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Chapter Text

Destiny's island.

The strong sound of the wind caused by the storm still did not cease, each time it became louder and louder and echoed inside the cave, Kairi was sitting huddled in shelter until everything would pass, and that was not the only problem she had to face, but also the creatures that were there, dark and deformed creatures with yellow eyes that tried to follow her and attack her, They seemed to be desperately looking for something from her, she was lucky that none of them managed to enter, she was at home a moment ago, getting ready to sleep and the next day to set sail with the raft with her friends, but quickly a storm formed in the islands and now she was alone, although she felt safe for now, it would not be enough.

"This Word has been connected...”

A mysterious voice emerged from the darkness of the cave, that made Kairi alert as she turned to where the strange wooden door was and approached it. 

-You...you are _-? the voice didn't answer but something beyond the door kept calling her, a force was pulling her...a sign...something...that made many of her repressed memories come back.

-The young redhead felt a headache that was transporting her to the deepest memories in her heart, memories that were still cloudy but as time went by they began to return. she could feel the fear...being chased by mysterious creatures...anguish...as she tried to run away with nowhere to go...she only made it to a large metal door that she failed to open...and then...a man...she .... .after that...she ended up here....

-what...what is all this?...- her head was about to explode, several blurred memories were coming back and fear was still invading her, she was unable to move or do anything, she could only see that door that kept calling her and at the same time her name was ringing in her ears....

it keep calling her... ... .he was calling her... ...he was looking for her... ...He...

-¡Kairi!-

The voice of one of the girl's own recognizable voice had appeared behind her, a unique voice. 

-...Sora?-

Kairi turned to finally see her friend Sora, who looked worried, he was a little tired since he had run to the secret place next to him holding something, as if it was a sword, Kairi still confused tried to get closer to her friend but she felt slow for a moment, as well as Sora's movements, everything seemed to move slowly, as if time wanted to stop just in that short reunion and when she thought she finally reached him a gust of wind propelled her forward, that door that has always been kept closed since the young people had consciousness was finally opened releasing its darkness. She seemed light, so much so that the strong breeze managed to lift her, she could see how Sora tried to extend his arms to catch her...or so he tried...because the moment they both crossed something happened, the moment Sora was close to grabbing Kairi, the boy vanished, it seemed as if it was an illusion, as if he wasn't there, but it couldn't be true, Sora was there and then...he is no longer there.

She fell to the ground, she was now more confused about what was happening, all these things were happening so fast that she has not had the time to analyze everything, she looked everywhere where Sora had ended up because she was sure that he was inside the cave, he was the one who called her and tried to help her, but once that door opened he had disappeared. Kairi could not believe it, when she tried to get up from the ground she saw how the back door was already open, a strange darkness was spreading inside her and little by little it was consuming the cave, she had to get out of there now, she did not know what would happen if that darkness reached her, Next to her feet was a big object, at the moment that Sora disappeared something in him did not and it was that strange object that looked like a sword, Kairi did not hesitate to take it, not even she thought why to have it but that would solve it later, the girl fled from the cave while that darkness was spreading leaving everything consumed by it.

The cave became smaller as Kairi advanced, she could no longer do anything and even more if the darkness continued to spread, but she managed to see a small light of the exit, she tried to go ahead until finally the light spread more than the darkness but that light turned out not to be the light of hope, When the girl managed to get out she realized what was happening around her, the whole island had disappeared, or rather a part of it, since the beach had now become a floating crater, with the debris of the houses and wooden bridges, some palm trees already damaged and there was no more sea water, When looking at the sky you could only see a large vortex that absorbed everything in its path, there was nothing left of the island of games and it was not the worst, looking around was prostrate a large dark monster, watching her and ready to attack, Kairi there could not do anything before a creature as strong as that, It was quite big compared to her and the only thing that our young girl could do was to cover herself but in a useless way, this same creature threw a punch straight towards the girl, but it was stopped in time by a light, something so strong and bright not only managed to stop the creature but also to leave our protagonist unconscious.

“After that event, I don't remember what happened...the light became completely...and then, I could only hear voices, I seemed to be floating...I had no direction...I was alone...it ..... .it was familiar...”

Chapter Text

Disney's castle

Beyond the galaxy, in a distant castle ruled by a small but important figure, the news had been given that his majesty, King Mickey had disappeared but not before leaving a message for his friends given by his faithful companion and pet Pluto, The letter was addressed to Donald the duck and royal court magician who entrusted him and the royal knight Goofy to look for “the key” that would help them after the crisis that was suffering the worlds and the darkness, they had to look for a man named Leon who was in Traverse Town, he would help them all about the key and their next trip they would have. After all that the King had in mind, Donald and Goofy embark on a quest to find the “key” and return his majesty safely home and as an extra order from Queen Minnie, Jiminy Cricket would accompany them on their adventure and record their entire journey in his journal.

So then the three of them together with Pluto (who joined by his own decision) embarked on the Gumi Ship heading to Traverse town to find Leon, the trip was normal, just as Chip and Dale told them the ship worked with laughter so they could not have sad faces or the ship would stop working, the trip was done, getting rid of every heartless they met and dodging the meteors that passed by on the way, everything was as it should be on its course.

-Hey, I wonder what the King means by the "key,” -Goofy wondered as they redirected the ship-”What do you think, Donald?-

-Whatever it is, the King asked us to find it, so that's what we'll do -exclaimed Donald in his typical unreadable tone of voice.

-fo the start we must first get to Traverse Town to ask Leon about the key that the king mentioned-said Jiminy who stood on top of the command table-once there he will guide us to take us to the key.

-¿But what will that key be?-asked Goofy again, somewhat incredulous but that was his nature, clueless but loyal.

-We won't know until we find it- answered Donald, who didn't care much that it is the key that is being talked about so much,-but as his majesty said, we have to find it and thus find him.-

The discussion continued with Goofy still wondering about the key if it was a key to open doors or a house key or a vehicle key or etc, he started to say all the kinds of keys he knew (even the pipe key) Donald answered him that he didn't know and that he should just concentrate on the mission and that would be all making him lose his temper, They would have gone on if it wasn't that there was a sound alert to which the only one who detected the noise was Pluto who was lying in a corner and because of the sound he got up to see what was happening, but when he did he noticed something in the window of the ship and started barking trying to alert the rest of the crew, Donald and Goofy were not hearing anything because he was still arguing about the key but finally they were interrupted by Jiminy.

-Hey! Something's wrong with the alarm!

-alarm? What the heck is wrong with_ WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH !!!!

The duck screamed as he noticed not only the alarm, but also what was in front of them, they didn't know exactly what it was but it was gigantic, it looked like some kind of dark monster covered by several dark limbs and a hole in its chest in the shape of a heart, the crew didn't know yet but they were at the mercy of a Heartless. With the alarm still sounding the royal wizard tried to redirect his way to another direction and the royal knight was in charge of the armory to attack but it was too late because that giant shadow with a wave of his hand hit the Gumi ship very hard making it start to rotate abruptly, the sounds that were the screams of Donald and Goofy followed that he had no control with the gyroscope, the two began to roll around with the spinning motion of the ship, Jiminy and Pluto were in the same trying to find a balance or something to hold on but it was useless except for Pluto who managed to hold on to a mast thanks to his teeth, the ship had lost total control that even took them out of orbit while the alarm was still sounding they did not see in the distance while they were lost a bunch of giant Heartless traveling through the galaxy. ...things were getting worse ...

Traverse Town

In the skies of the illuminated city faded one of the thousands of stars, no one had noticed the disappearance of the star, but not many understand that this event was a bad omen, because another world had succumbed to the darkness at the hands of the Heartless, but there was no other way to recover it because the chosen one, who should restore order was lost forever ... or so they think.

Inside the alleys illuminated by the warm night, in the most hidden part of the first district, the young islander was sleeping next to the deposit of boxes, she did not seem to be hurt or to have suffered any serious blow, rather she slept as if everything that had just a mere dream.

-Hey girl- the only voice that could be heard was that of a formal man, it sounded like a local from here, Kairi slowly came to her senses only to see who was calling her.

-This is not a place to sleep here kid-said the man who had some boxes in his hands, he had the task of leaving some boxes behind the place if it wasn't for the fact that he bumped into the young lady.

-What?

-you're okay?-Kairi was starting to recover more to look at where she was, with the help of the man she managed to get up and look carefully-it seems that you are from another world...

-What are you talking about?-the girl asked again as she wiped some of the dirt from her purple skirt,-Where am I?

-You don't know where you are,” exclaimed the surprised man, although later he could understand the girl's confused situation, ”this isTraverse Town.

-Traverse...what...? -more than answers she only had more questions, the girl walked a little until she reached the exit of the alley where her sight surprised her more when she witnessed what she was seeing, houses and buildings around, a street illuminated by two lanterns, a restaurant next to it and several stores illuminated and decorated with hundreds of lights. this is a big town.

At first Kairi believed that this was a dream, because it was impossible that a place as beautiful as this would ever exist, the well-dressed gentleman walked towards her.

-Young lady if you wish you can enter here in Cid's store, he can help you, I have to continue with my work,” said the gentleman picking up what he had to do in his office but not before indicating where to find this Cid and his store which was just behind her, once he offered his help the gentleman left leaving the young woman alone in the middle of a city illuminated by an eternal night.

The sound of the door was what welcomed her with a bell, also being a warning to the owner that he had a customer.

-Welcome to the store of..._-who turned to receive the young islander was nothing more than a man with a long face and a rather bad temper but still being somewhat courteous in receiving visitors...although this one was not to her liking.

-Bah! is just a little girl....

-How rude and impolite, and I'm not a little girl!-Kairi was annoyed at the man's comment and reception as she placed her hands on her hips in annoyance.

-I didn't mean for you to get upset, kiddo.

-Well, you did it!-she said still looking annoyed,-is that how you greet your customers?

-Hey, nobody tells me how I should and shouldn't greet people,” exclaimed the man somewhat annoyed, as if he lacked to be scolded by a 14 year old girl.

-Anyway, I'm looking for a man named Cid.

-Well, you've already found him and he's in front of you, kiddo.

-Huh?!... oh...

-What's with that expression, girl?!? -Nothing!

-Nothing! Nothing! and my name is Kairi- It seems that Kairi was expecting to see a different kind of person and not one as grumpy one as Cid.

A moment passed where Kairi took the opportunity to ask him where he was and although she was still in some sort of denial about whether what she was experiencing now was a dream, it didn't stop her from being curious about where she was.

-This is the City of Passage, little girl,” answered Cid, ”this is where some people take refuge after their worlds were destroyed.

-Destroyed?

-You know... when a world ends up BOOM!-he exclaimed making an explosion sign,-Anyway, when a world dies, the people who lived there are lost, while others hopefully end up here, the city that gives them passage.

-Are you saying...this is like a shelter?

-Call it what you want,” he said while scratching his nose a little, ”only those lucky enough to get here pass through here.

So in short the city was the home for those who no longer have anywhere to go after their worlds were consumed, this still did not fit in Kairi's head as it all seemed unreal to her what she was living, a moment ago she saw the islands as they were normally, then she remembered how they were destroyed and then....

-Wait!

-Hmph?

-You said a moment ago that some people were lucky enough to come here, right?

-Ah, yes, that's why it's Traverse Town.

-So...maybe they're here! 

-Who?

-Have you seen some guys around here? They are from my island where I live!- Kairi started to describe her friends with their most characteristic features as in Sora who is most recognizable as someone with spiky brown hair and big shoes and Riku as someone with silver hair and baggy pants.

Cid couldn't recognize anything from the descriptions the young girl has given as he hasn't left his store since then and according to him the only one who has entered so far was her, the girl was a little dissatisfied but still she didn't want to lose hope, if it was true what that man said then there was no reason to lose faith. Without thinking she left the counter to go to the exit door.

-Hey girl! What the hell are you going to do!

-I'm going to look for my friends! Sora and Riku must be here! I'm sure of it!

-Wait silly! Don't you know there are monsters out there!

Still the girl ignored him and left the store, first she had to analyze the situation starting with what to do, she was in a city she doesn't know and where she can easily get lost, she had just got out of a storm that sucked her in and took her to such a place, her best friend “vanished” from her sight, all this was very strange indeed....

A while passed while Kairi walked around the first district for a while, the place was quite illuminated by the lights and stores around, in front of her she found a mini map that indicated where she was and what other places there were inside the city....

“Jummmm...this is district one, behind in a big gate is district two, well...that's where I should start” thought the girl orienting herself behind to see the big gate that would take her to district two and head there. She followed her path until she found several houses and more lighted establishments, she didn't think she would see such a place so different from what the Destiny island were, Kairi felt more amazed to see all that dreamy place, she even thought she was still dreaming, But it was no time to get distracted, wherever they are...Sora and Riku should be somewhere and she should look for them so at least she would feel calmer, but that would not end because the darkness managed to find her.

From the floor a dark fog manifested itself and invoked those small black creatures with yellow eyes, staggering one by one to get out and all eyes were put on the young girl who was helpless at that moment, she just ran towards the small square below, those creatures were the same ones Kairi met in the Islands, she just ran away from them with the fear that some would delay her, she only wanted to think about her friends...Where are they?

Chapter Text

-Sora! Riku! - the young girl kept shouting all over the streets, she ran and ran hoping to have some answer, she had finally got rid of the creatures losing sight of them but she still had the fear that they would come back somewhere, Kairi spent a long time searching and running away in district two hoping finally to be heard, to be helped by her friends, she had the hope of seeing them again, that feeling she had.... it was like when they competed in races to see who was the fastest, obviously Kairi always went last because she couldn't compare with Riku's speed and Sora's insistence, but she was happy, it was good because even being behind she could see them, she could follow them wherever they went because she knew that where they would go would be fine.... that was the idea...but now she was running alone in the silent and dark streets of Traverse town, with those creatures chasing her and with the desperation of not being able to find her friends.

-SORA! RIKU!! ... .WHERE ARE THEY!!!....SORA!!- she finally stopped at the fountain of district two, decorated with that flower mural with the water still flowing, some tears on her cheeks started to come out, the plain had taken her, sliding on her knees Kairi could not take it anymore, it was not a dream what she was living, it was a nightmare...her home, her family, her friends...she lost everything...that feeling never came back. ...she who had promised herself not to be afraid in this trip to the unknown, now she was, only that her fear turned to loneliness...she thought she would never see Sora and Riku again...they are no longer with her to save her...

-What am I supposed to do now? where is everybody?” she continued to cry out of sadness, she was no longer worried about the creatures hurting her, actually everything was quite calm.

-Now, calm down my child, don't cry anymore,” a sweet and angelic voice came to try to soothe the young girl's wounded heart.

-I'm not...it's just...my friends...they are lost...I don't know where they are...I don't know what to do now...-

-Its okay sweet heart-Kairi reacted to the touch as she felt it real, when she raised her head a little she could see the face of the person that was talking -don't cry anymore my dear, the important thing is that you are safe-

The voice came from an older woman with a long blue dress and silver hair, that woman had a kind of gift in calming weak hearts or that was what Kairi thought, because every caress she gave her head and the woman's words made her calm down little by little, she took a breath while trying to relax.

-This place is not safe for you, even if you want to look for your friends you can't do it now my girl, you are so tired,-she said while from her sleeves she took out something similar to a white wand and with a few movements of her hand she made a sheet magically appear to cover the young girl's body, ”it's getting a little cold, come with me and I'll bring you some hot chocolate.

the woman got up extending her hand to help Kairi, she now felt good and safe and even though she never met this woman she seemed to be someone good to her...quite good in fact.

“it may seem strange...but...being with the Fairy Godmother I felt...a familiar feeling...something that...try as I might to remember I couldn't...and in fact, that feeling was something I should never forget...”

In the Hotel of district two there was a group meeting, they were evaluating the situation that was happening both in the city and out there.

-What did you hear Aerith?

-According to the Fairy Godmother, many of the worlds succumbed more quickly due to an invasion of dark beings....

-...mmm...the sinister ones...-

-...do you think that the situation outside...?

-we can't make sense of what is happening...however...the situation has totally changed...-

-.Do you think the key was...?-A ringing sound interrupts the conversation between the two adults, allowing two new guests to enter.

-Ah! my apologies Leon but I think we need an extra bed- who entered was nothing more and nothing less than the Fairy Godmother who was accompanied by a young girl still recovering, the man and the woman noticed her being embraced by the fairy and only faces of concern showed both...

Outside in the streets of the third district the stars continued to fade little by little, the worlds continued to succumb to the darkness and there was nothing to stop it, each time the Heartless were getting stronger in number and multiplied more with so many hearts consumed, at that moment the sky flickered with a small light only to become a shooting star, but it was not a real star ... it was a capsule! From the dark sky landed a capsule to the third district where many of the Heartless that were in the place were hit until they disappeared, the capsule stopped from its impact until it crashed against a wall which made one of the windows open, only to give way out to a yellow dog, it was Pluto! Who managed to get out of that unfortunate situation in the Gumi ship, but leaving aside Donald, Goofy and Jiminy Cricket who were not inside the capsule, only the dog managed to get out of there. He shook off his dirt and began to inspect the place where he was, with his acute sense of smell he sniffed every corner until he found a peculiar “smell”, the dog barked twice and made his way to his way being in a difficult situation with several heartless coming out of their hiding places.

The hotel of the city of passage was one of the safe havens that the place had for its people, and also the refuge for a group that was in charge of protecting it, in one of the rooms was resting Kairi after that long day without success of any clue or clue of where Sora and Riku were.she had fallen asleep in the arms of the lada and was taken to a bed to rest

-You got it easy,” answered a girl who had just entered to bring something to eat for the girl, she was also Kairi's age, she had black hair, a comfortable green dress and a metallic ribbon on her forehead, ”those Heartless are annoying when it comes to appear, especially if it's in a group.

Kairi just listened to her because she was a little dizzy, it had been a long time since she had eaten since her arrival and all the tiredness she had after running away from those monsters left her breathless.

-By the way, you can call me Yuffie, also known as the “Great Ninja Yuffie!”- said the girl introducing herself in her own way with a unique pose, Kairi received the greeting saying her name, although a little weak. At that moment the 2 adults enter, a man with a scar on his face and a woman with braided hair she just met together with the one who is called the Fairy Godmother.

-Are you all right,” asked the brown-haired woman, ”Do you need anything else?

-No, I'm fine, thank you,” Kairi answered hiding her tiredness with a kind but fake smile, she couldn't help but be uncomfortable after everything that happened, as soon as she entered the hotel with the fairy godmother and fell asleep in her arms, she was attended by those two people who were later introduced as Aerith and Leon.

-You were lucky that none of the Heartless got to you,” said the man with the scar, looking serious and going to a corner, ”if you hadn't left district one you wouldn't be going through this.

-I don't understand what you're saying,” asked the young girl to whom everything that was happening to her made no sense at all.

-Now, my child,” the Fairy calmed her with a soft and understandable voice, ”we have time to tell everything.

The time they were all together was to talk and clear the doubts she had about the situation, they explained to Kairi what has been attacking her all this time were monsters called Heartless, beings that crave and desire hearts of others causing havoc, they explained about the information they had about the Heartless given by the lost reports of a researcher named Ansem, and finally they explained about the only weapon that can be against the Heartless.

-The keyblade?

-Exactly,” exclaimed Yuffie, ”it is said that the Keyblade is the only weapon that can harm the Heartless.

-The Heartless fear it because of its power, and that's why they run away from it, but they also look for the bearer of the key to get his heart,-explained Leon continuing with the explanation.

-So... that weapon can eliminate those monsters?

-Of course it can, honey, the keyblade is a weapon of light that can be used against darkness, it is very powerful and it is also the only one that can save the worlds,-said the Fairy Godmother who has a wide knowledge of the subject.

-Well, then where is the key,” asked the young girl hoping for good news, but some eyes lowered and turned away, only Aerith took the floor.

-The thing is...we don't know where it is...a few hours ago some people were supposed to come and help us locate it.

-what...but...what happened?

-they disappeared- answered Leon with a cold tone, crossing his arms he continued with the answer- I had the task of showing them where he could be...but I didn't find any trace of him either... -I had the task of showing them where he could be...

A difficult situation for the group, even for Kairi who knew the seriousness of the situation.  

-If it is not too much trouble -the fairy godmother interrupts- Leon, I would like to contact two of my friends to help us with what is happening.

-as you can help us-

-Of course I am, but I would also like to tell this to an old friend, it's been a long time since I wrote her a letter and I think she will help us much more in this situation.

-Okay, as long as we think about how to deal with this situation- Leon exclaims while the Fairy Godmother with a wave of her wand disappears among stars and lights, which leaves Kairi surprised,- while we figure this out you can stay here.

-Hey wait! I have something to say- Kairi gets up from the bed to go to the man- the thing is that I'm looking for my friends and maybe they are here.

-Your friends?

-Yes! One of them is wearing red clothes and big shoes and the other one is sturdy and wears olive pants, their names are Sora and Riku- -Lion was thoughtful, as he looked at the man.

Leon remained thoughtful, at the same time the two girls looked at each other, it seemed that even with Kairi's description they did not see a new inhabitant other than the redhead herself.

-Leon! Over there! 

The conversation was quickly interrupted by the presence of a shadow which took shape showing itself as a Heartless with a metallic armor, this left everyone in the room surprised since now the hotel would soon be infested with Heartless.

-Yuffie! Aerith! Take Kairi and run!” Leon indicated the instruction to the ninja and the young woman to take Kairi and run away from the place, it was not safe to stay there knowing that soon the Heartless would come, Yuffie with a kick opens the exit door of the room and the three run to leave the hotel, Leon was left alone with his heart and brandishing a unique and peculiar sword of him throwing the small shadow to fly to the window.

Chapter Text

The girls set off until they reached district two hoping that none of the shadows would follow them, but it wouldn't be long before their safety would be at stake again after more Heartless appeared around the hotel, Yuffie was ready to put up a fight if necessary with her shuriken star while Aerith kept Kairi behind protecting her from the creatures, they both knew the seriousness of what they were facing but they were looking for a way to break free from there. -We can't let the Heartless get to the first district,” said Yuffie seeing that more creatures were starting to appear, their plan was to head to the first district but with the amount of Heartless that were summoned they feared that the situation would get out of control and endanger the citizens. 

-I have an idea. Yuffie, can you create a distraction? -

-I'll try my best Aerith.

The ninja launched several star projectiles towards the creatures trying to create an access to move towards an alley, the path would lead them to the third district. When they managed to cross the road Aerith stopped in front of the door where the two girls were already.

-What's going on?” asked the young red-haired girl worriedly to the girl in pink. 

-You go ahead! I'll create a distraction to keep them away!

-What? You can't do that! It's dangerous!

-I'll be fine, go with Yuffie and try to go to Cid's place, he will help you- this plan, even if the girl doesn't like it because of the sacrifice Aerith would make, there was no other way to keep them safe, Yuffie takes Kairi's hand to enter through the door while they leave Aerith heading to the exit of the alley where she would meet the Heartless.

-Hey! We should help her!

-Don't worry! Aerith can take care of herself! I know it very well,” said the ninja although her face showed concern even though she was trying to pretend the opposite. 

Both girls arrived to district three, an empty and colorful street in cold tones that led them to a special fountain, in that place there was a giant wooden door that would take them to the first district.

-That's the door, we can be safe there”.

So when the girls thought they were safe to reach the door they were intercepted by the armed Heartless who did not hesitate to attack the ninja, with a blow they threw Yuffie to fly away from the door leaving her unconscious, Kairi was now defenseless against the new creatures, she alone could not defend herself against the monsters, let alone return from where she came from, this time she was surrounded. The girl could only retreat little by little before the uncertainty of being attacked, she could only imagine the worst and was even accepting that fate.

“please...someone...someone help me...I can't...this...is it always like this?”

Her eyes remained closed and her body stopped moving, she could only hear the sound emitted by those creatures, she brought her hands to her chest, right on her necklace.... right in her heart, she tried to take refuge in it, just seeing the fact of dying.... she could only remember her home, the warm sun of the islands, the time she has spent there, her family...and...her friends...Selphie...Wakka....Tidus....Sora...Riku....

“...Sora...”

She could only see the two of them smiling and holding out their hands to where she was.

“Please...give me a sign...”

So it was that the light guided her, opening to her heart, beyond her she observed a light that seemed to call her, she slowly followed it, each time the call was strong and the light became more intense....

Kairi....

Kairi....

Kairi...

KAIRI!!!

The light spread out completely thus commanding the girl, still without moving Kairi felt a warmth that was familiar to her, slowly regaining her senses she could feel something in her right hand, she was holding something she didn't remember having and when she opened her eyes she could see what she had, from her hand she was carrying a sword-like object with a peculiar shape...something like a key.... key....

At that moment Leon and Aerith arrived from the door to the alley of the second district and what they saw was something they couldn't believe

-That shape... is just as described! That is...!

-KEYBLADE!- shouted the ninja who was helped by Aerith after arriving with her, the three were surprised to see the real manifestation of a Keyblade and even more to see that the one who was possessing it was a young girl they had just met. The Heartless that were there were eliminated by the manifested light but began to appear more of the creatures still lurking and to make matters worse around the center of the fountain on the ground rose some murals that prevented the exit and entrance to the fountain, now the young redhead was trapped at the mercy of the Heartless, the others were left outside without the possibility of helping due to the force that prevented them from entering or destroy the wall but soon....

“please give me strength!"- she thought....

-GUAF GUAF! -From far away from the walls could be heard the sound of a dog barking and indeed that was what it was, a yellow and thin dog with black ears which did not hesitate to jump from the wall to fall on top of one of the Heartless which one vanished when it was trampled, the canine did not stop barking and lunging at the creatures thus saving the girl, although it seems strange Kairi felt safe having this company, it is as if the presence of the dog itself and the newly invoked weapon of her heart were asking her to do something.... fight...fight...fight...fight, not stay still or waiting to be saved like many times...this time she would save herself.

-I can do it!!-

And in attack position, she was ready to fight!

Although her movements were clumsy and sometimes abrupt, the girl did not stop attacking the Heartless that appeared and each time the number was reduced until finally no one was left alive, the walls returned to their normal state returning to the ground and Leon and company managed to go through it to assist the redhead.

-Kairi, are you ok?” said Aerith concerned with the girl and at the same time Yuffie went to assist Kairi who only got some bruises and scratches but they were not serious, the girl was out of danger. They also took care of the dog who was not in danger either thank goodness.

-It seems that things are going at a different pace- Leon addressed the redhead still looking at the silver and gold weapon that the girl was still wielding.

-It's true Kai Kai! Why didn't you tell us that you knew how to handle the Keyblade?

-I just... I didn't know...- said the redhead.

Kairi held the key in different positions, she could only see in her reflection projected what would be the blade of the sword, this was something that even she did not expect to possess. Both adults were silent in thought for what was happening, but while they were trying to solve the situation a stardust landed next to them and the Fairy Godmother appeared.

-Oh honey, she chose you as her carrier! 

-What are you saying?” said the girl as the group turned to look at the old woman in blue.

-The keyblade has a unique power in that she chooses its bearer, only a person whose light in her heart is so great can wield the key and she has chosen you, my dear.

-Really? Me?

-that has been held for generations, and now with the darkness approaching, the keyblade decided that you are her chosen one.

This left more at stake the role of Kairi...her...as a keyblade choosen? This was something neither she nor Leon's group expected to see?

Beyond the corner of the universe a sinister encounter arises among a shadowy group, all were gathered in front of an orb of light reflecting the image of the redhead with her newly obtained key, the mysterious beings were disgusted and at the same time surprised by what was happening in Traverse town.

-This is more than absurd! This is the last straw!

-We never expected the key to be addressed to a princess...and even less so on her...-

-What does it matter if that little girl has it, we just have to take it away from her! haha! so it's a piece of cake!-

-Don't relax too much witch! we can't underestimate a maiden with the power of light- 

-And you, your excellency, you have a better idea than mine?

-Enough!” from the shadows appeared the figure of a tall woman with black clothes and dragon horns, she showed authority to the group at the same time she filled the atmosphere with darkness.

-The keyblade must have chosen her for something, that is evident...however, she has not damaged our plans, let her have some fun and when the time is right...we will take her to the lock.

After the battle everyone decided to safeguard themselves again in the hotel of the second district, for now the Heartless problem there had calmed down but they couldn't keep their guard up yet so the fairy godmother cast a protection spell to keep the Heartless away while everyone was getting organized, on the way Kairi was still perplexed about the situation, she didn't expect that she was that chosen one they were talking so much about a few moments ago, she couldn't even see herself as a kind of “hero” although it didn't bother her in a sense either since she has always had that adventurous spirit that characterized her, but this was something that wasn't in her limits.

The young redhead and along with the yellow dog she had just met in that battle were taken to the same room to rest only this time they would be alone, Leon and Aerith stayed on the other side of the next room to talk while Yuffie kept watch in the surroundings to avoid another incident with the Heartless.

-Leon...are you all right?

-This was not as planned...” Leon's concern about what happened with the girl could be seen on his face, he seemed to expect something better in the bearer and that it was not a 14 year old girl who can barely wield a sword, this puzzled him a lot.

Not only because they knew it was her, but also the fact that while they were on their way to the hotel he asked Kairi for the key to take it away from her, but once Leon took possession of the key it disappeared to return again to Kairi's hands, indicating that no matter how it was taken away, the key would always return to its bearer.

-Do you think she... can't?

-The situation is more delicate now, Aerith, we can't let this happen.

-I understand... but the key chose her... and as the legend says, only she can bring balance to the worlds.

-Look...let's face it...she can barely hold her own, a few moments ago she didn't even know how to fight and now this...she's not ready at all....

-but...what are we going to do...?

Leon kept thinking about trying to find a solution while Aerith thoughtfully tried to find another alternative.

-...I'll take her place... 

-what?

-I'll call Cid to prepare a ship...then what I'll do....

-You can't do that! It's dangerous and you know very well that!

-I have no choice...besides...you saw it Aerith-

-eh?

-Her heart...radiates a lot of light...

-...do you think that... -

-...all the more reason why I'll be the one to take this job...don't leave the girl alone...for her sake she'd better stay here... -

The man left the place in order to go out leaving Aerith alone, when he leaving the hotel he noticed the arrival of someone else, someone who had been watching everything that had happened for a long time.

-...don't think this is your chance...the keyblade chose her,” he said to the one who was watching.

-...maybe...but that still won't stop me from my goal....

-Don't be foolish, you don't want to take that other path...

-We'll see... 

The girl stayed in that room pensive, she had heard all the conversation she was thinking about on the other side of the room... she tried to rest her eyes but she couldn't fall asleep, she had a lot to ask why the key would choose her? She did not understand why it came to her...there was something in her that did not make sense but she did not know how to explain it, next to her was the dog that had helped her a moment ago, the dog did not stop wagging its thin tail and panting with joy just looking at the young woman, she did not know anything about dogs because she never had one of her own but she had seen how her neighbors' dogs behaved, so she knew something about them and as the dog expressed it was that it wanted to play with her.

-okay...Sit down! - laughed the girl indicating the order to the canine, to her surprise the dog was obedient and obeyed her order.

-Good boy!- she said stroking the dog's head, the young girl managed to see a tag on the dog's green collar.

-"Pluto“...so your name is Pluto?-she said while the dog nodded still happy, it seems that Pluto had an owner which means that his master must be close by.

-You look like you belong to someone huh?...maybe your owner is nearby? do you have any idea?-she asked even though she knew the dog couldn't speak, still he shook his head answering the question and then started to play with the girl, wagging his tail and looking for a game with her.

The game was interrupted by the arrival of the Fairy Godmother who came back just to see the girl.

-Hi honey, how are you feeling now?

-I think...well...I guess- the young girl was still uneasy, although she tried to hide her mood as much as possible with a smile. It didn't prevent the fairy from feeling the emotional state of the young girl, the same Pluto who put his snout close to her side to try to cheer her up, she was quiet for a while while the fairy was doing other things until she managed to speak.

-Hey...

-Yes, sweetheart-

-I was thinking...Do you think...I'm capable...of doing this...?

The fairy godmother saw the young girl's downfall, Kairi felt several things about being a carrier, of all possible things she didn't think it was possible to be someone who carries such a big responsibility and at the same time it frightened her.

-My child, no one is born ready for things, if they were, everyone would follow only one course, my dear,” she said, resting her hand on her shoulder, ”only you can see that.

-But... they think that I...-

-Don't think that you can't because others say so, they are just worried, you must know that the situation with the worlds is delicate, but the key decides who deserves to carry it and it doesn't do it because of who is stronger- 

-...I...I just want to find my friends...- she said while she curled up in the sheets, avoiding crying, the fairy godmother couldn't help seeing her, she reminded him of a certain princess that she also calmed a long time ago, with a wish and a pure heart was how her dream was granted.

-You know something? they say that whoever possesses the keyblade can travel to other worlds!-

-What? really?- said the girl standing up again.

-It's the truth dear, a long time ago there were carriers that could travel to other worlds, they had their mission to prevail the welfare of those worlds, maybe and only maybe dear, in those worlds you can find the answer you are looking for” the fairy godmother was encouraging her, both to follow her task as a carrier and her heart.

-But I don't know how to fight... I barely defended myself out there, I don't even know how I did it, this is not for me.

-Well dear, not everyone is born with the skills, they learn them and it only takes practice and speaking of practice...- the fairy godmother takes out her magic wand from her sleeves and asks the girl to get up from the bed, when she does it with a few words the fairy creates a spell which surrounds the young girl.

-What was that?

-It is a spell that you can learn first, the magic of fire - the fairy proudly shows her with magic to create fireballs, although tiny as a demonstration, the first to be surprised was Pluto who jumped out of bed to be dazzled by the newly created magic of the Fairy Godmother, Kairi by instinct extends her hand to which of the light the key was invoked and as indicated by the fairy from the tip of the key came out a blast of fire, high not lethal but functional.

-You did great honey! You have a gift with magic!

-Really?” Kairi was pleased with such praise, for the first time she had performed magic and it cheered her out of her state.

-Now, why don't we warm up the room a bit? The nights are getting cold, there's a candle over there dear, point it at her and light it carefully.

-Kairi followed the instruction and with a single spark the candle was lit, receiving praise from the fairy godmother.

-Very good, my dear! You did wonderfully!

-Thank you very much, fairy godmother.

- you're welcome, dear...but...now the room is warmer...you should open a window - the fairy with a few simple movements and some “Bibidi babidi boo” opened the window of the room, a wind came out of it towards the alley, it seems that the fairy was indicating something to her.

-Oh dear...the window is wide open...it should be fine like this...maybe then anyone will want to get in or out of it, don't you think?

-Wait! You're...” Kairi took a hint.

-My girl, I can't make you stay here, and even if the others say otherwise, don't let them guide you to another path, this is your destiny my dear, so what do you say?

This left the redhead thoughtful, she knew of the dangers to come, but she had a new weapon and a control of magic, but it still scared her to do all this alone, until the words of the Fairy Godmother came.

-So, if I can get out, will I be able to find Sora and Riku?

-Of course you can, honey, only you have the power to find them, do you know why?

-Because their hearts are connected, no matter where they are, they will always lead them to the same path,” the fairy pointed to the young girl's heart, bringing her the confidence and encouragement she needed. 

-Honey, remember very well that... you are not alone.

Those words reminded her of her peaceful days...those warm days...those that are with her...that was her goal, her friends...she had to find them, she had to do it...and when she does, the 3 of them together will be able to venture into the worlds.

-Thank you very much, fairy godmother, I don't know how to thank you.

-You don't have to do it, if you still need my help you know where to come back my dear, in fact, one way to travel safely is with a ship.

The fairy with her magic created a starry path with her wand, indicating the direction the girl had to take to be able to leave and travel to other worlds, Kari felt more excited having at last the way to do something, this time she would not be left behind.

-may this be for you dear... “may your heart be your guiding key...”

and so she said goodbye with a hug to the Fairy, deeply grateful for what she has done for her, then she went up to the window to cross it and be outside in the alley not before hearing some last words from the fairy.

-ah! sweetheart! Be very careful!

and that's how they both finally said goodbye.

-What do you want me to do, WHAT?” Cid was shocked to hear Leon's request.

-You said you had a ship a long time ago, didn't you?

-That was a long time ago! And it's not even fully repaired!

-Cid! - Leon crossed his arms, catching the lie the old man was trying to tell him.

-Well well...in my spare time I repaired it, but don't think I'll give it to you easy just like that!

-I'll keep it in mind with you later...”.

Leon and Cid were in the outskirts of the city, they both agreed to take out something that was hidden in one of the many materials accumulated in a corner, inside there was a kind of colorful ship, that was one of the small prides that Cid had since it was a Gumi ship, according to what they said this kind of ships were made by the broken borders of the worlds long ago and that is the only way by which a person can be able to travel to other destinations, Leon would use that ship to travel in it.

-Hey...are you really going to do this? I'm not saying you can't do it, I've never really underestimated you, but I heard from Yuffie that you managed to find the key holder.

-Yes, we did, but unfortunately things have changed, now I will take his place,” said the man crossing his arms, this did not encourage Cid, because he was not the only one who thought that what he was going to do was risky, especially not having the bearer of the sword key next to him.

-By the way, did you adjust the ship's combustion system?

-Of course! That system had me on pins and needles how they designed it, look here, I removed the giggle system it originally had to replace it with real fuel, I have to say whoever designed this would have to torture us like that!.

Cid took Leon back to the entrance of the city to explain to Leon how to maneuver the ship, while they did not notice the presence of another person.

-so this is what they can travel with! - Kairi came out of her hiding place to approach the ship, she realized how complex it was but thought it would not be complicated to use it.

“The truth...i would feel wrong to take it without permission...”

The honesty was overwhelming her, it felt wrong to have to take the ship, but it was the only way to be able to travel and she couldn't miss that opportunity, she had to get up the courage to do it. She checked every side of the ship to see where to climb and find out more about how it worked, but something scared her while she was trying to climb into one of the corners of the ship, a familiar bark.

-Pluto? what are you doing here? 

The girl noticed the dog that had been following her all this time since she left the hotel.

-What are you doing here? You can't go with me,” she tried to push him away so he would stop following her, but no matter how hard she tried Pluto wouldn't stop, he didn't want to separate from her even though they just met, the girl knelt down to pet his head and try to convince him.

-Look, I am grateful that you helped me at that moment, but where I will go may be too much for you, besides you have a master to follow, don't you?

She spoke in the most honest and delicate way she could but it seemed that Pluto didn't listen to her, in fact the dog jumped high enough to have half of his body inside the ship.

-Hey, don't do that! - Kairi tried to stop him but this time the dog didn't listen to her, she looked on both sides making sure that there was no one around and trying to lean on the same ship she tried to get on it, when she got inside she could only see hundreds of devices, buttons and things that she didn't understand very well, she never thought of piloting a ship, this wasn't like the raft.

It was much worse, she didn't even know which was the button to take off even though she didn't want to press it yet, on the other hand Pluto with his nose didn't stop inspecting the ship until he found something, Kairi tried to stop him because he didn't want to stay still.

-Hey! I'm serious! - she tried, she tried, she did what she could to stop the dog from following her but nothing helped, when she had him in front of her she didn't take her eyes off him, she tried to look as serious as possible against an innocent dog with his big eyes, his round nose and his tongue out of happiness, she tried not to get attached to that doggy look asking “please, let me come with you, I'll be of help!

On the one hand he seemed more adorable like that, so much so that she couldn't resist hugging him and petting him more with lots of cuddles from her, but on the other hand it reminded her of herself, in those days when she wanted to participate in all kinds of games but was not allowed to, but from much of her insistence she did, sometimes she had arguments with Sora, as he was worried that she would get hurt, but she didn't care and how much fun they finally had, a smile came to her face as she remembered those moments and it was enough to remind her of her reason for doing this.

“no matter how far apart they are, they will always find the path that brings them together.”

Even if she knows what dangers she will encounter, she should not be afraid, she has the key sword that will help her fight, she learned magic thanks to the fairy godmother, she can do it, she can find her friends.

-Hey, what are you doing in there!

They were surprised by a scolding coming from Cid who even accompanied by Leon noticed the stowaway in the ship, both men went directly to her to stop what she is planning to do, the dog while barking pointed out to the girl a button that lit the one that seems to be the one that ignited the ship, now Kairi is more determined in her decision.

-If I want to find them I must take the step, ready pluto? she looked at her new companion who nodded and when she pressed the button she started the ship.

Both men could not believe what was happening, the ship started to move, the hatch where Kairi and Pluto entered had closed, the two tried to stop the ship but it was too late.

-No no no no!! no the takeoff button no!!! - Cid tried at all costs to stop his recent creation as much as he could, but the ship did not turn back, it began to rise in the air and the frightened girl took refuge in one of the seats to prepare for the worst, the ship was taking energy for the hyperflight, being already impossible to stop it the two men had to withdraw from the area and by a simple blink of an eye the ship took off at an impressive speed towards the sky, where all sight of it was lost.

-My ship!!! thieves!!! they stole my ship!!!” the poor old man knelt down lamenting the loss of his work, while Leon unhappily clenched his fists in anger.

-They didn't go that far! Cid!

-Do you really think I have another ship? Don't be an imbecile! We just lost it there!

-There has to be an alternative! We can't just leave her there!

-Stop Leon.

The fairy godmother made her appearance and next to her was Aerith.

-You can't take her position, the key chose her and you know it well.

-But... she doesn't know what it is either.

-and the best thing is that she finds out for herself- the gentle Fairy was direct with her answer, her words were true, you can't take someone else's destiny and make it yours, unless it is also yours.

-Leon, have faith in her, besides, not only the Keyblade will protect her,” said Aerith approaching him, Leon calmed down and they all watched the sky, with the few stars that were there, maybe even if things have not gone as expected it does not mean that the outcome is bad, it can in fact, change for the better.

Chapter Text

Flying at an impressive speed the ship had stopped, it was now orbiting in an empty and starry space, staying afloat until it started up again, the young redhead had fainted due to the thrust of the ship and only until a few minutes later she had regained her senses after her new companion started to move her head. When she awoke she could only marvel at the colorful space she was in, from the window she could see the remaining stars, nebulae and features of galaxies and some meteors wandering through the void, it was something she never thought she would see in her life, Pluto also wagged her tail with joy at also witnessing this wonder, she would not be the only one to enjoy this. She took from her pocket something precious, from there she kept that amulet she had painstakingly put together, a pink Thalassa shell amulet, forming a star and with a drawing of a face recognizable to her.

“Guys...I wish you could see this!”

Once settled she quickly checked the ship, in which there were too many buttons and devices of all types, but one that stood out was in the center of the ship, it seemed to be the manual control to pilot it, it should be said that Kairi is not an expert in handling ships, in fact she had never been in one but she thought it would be something simple to handle.

-This...maybe it's like riding a bicycle...isn't it? - she looked at Pluto waiting for his answer, the dog just watched her raising one of his ears.

She took the seat near the control of the ship and observing the device she grabbed it to begin to move it, at the same time that she moved it the ship moved abruptly, between so many attempts and trials Kairi finally discovered the operation of the ship, and that managed to move it to begin its displacement towards a new place.

The journey became an endless journey, on their way they crossed several obstacles and other ships that were piloted by Heartless, she had to manage to dodge and reach their goal, once she reached her final path she managed to see what was a new world, a colorful and strange world where what awaits them will be a new adventure.

The two adventurers went into a deep hole of a burrow, little by little they descend to a decoration with tapestries and furniture floating slowly, luxury clocks falling so slowly, our redhead and her partner did not stop falling slowly without worrying about receiving a hard blow at the time of cushioning, they just followed the course until finally seeing a solid and assembled floor with a checkered floor waiting for them.

Both landed softly on the floor where more decorations accompanied them, the walls with fine bricks, the tapestry of the same, the decorative mats, everything seemed to be taken from a fairy tale and this fascinated Kairi even more to see this new world, Pluto was also excited as he has not stopped sniffing and jumping from one side to another marveling at their surroundings.

-this is bad this is bad!! it's getting late!! so late!!!! - A squeaky voice made them see that they were not alone, looking down they saw a white rabbit dressed very formally with his vest and bow tie and accompanied by a big golden pocket watch that he kept checking the time, he was hurrying his pace without noticing the girl and the dog.

-I'm going, I'm going! Goodbye everybody! I'm in a hurry!!! I'm in a hurry!!!-

The white rabbit accelerated his pace even more until he reached the end of the corridor, Kairi wondered what the rabbit was in such a hurry.

-Hey Pluto, do you think this rabbit is going to a party? If he was in such a hurry, it must be an important party,“ said the girl, a little naive when she saw the rabbit, ”What do you say, shall we follow him to see? -

The dog nodded with more excitement and went to follow the rabbit with Kairi who was behind the dog, the room was getting narrower and smaller, as if the perspective was playing against them, before they thought it was a long way but it seems that their perception deceived them vilely and even more when they reached the door, when they opened it inside there was another door but smaller...and another and another and another and another and another...the doors reached a height quite small that the only way to enter it was crawling.

Finally they were inside, what they found was just another room, quite colorful and symmetrical, the furniture and fixtures were literally stuck to the wall and only faced a small door with a golden doorknob.

-Did the rabbit come in from here? - Kairi knelt down to open the small door but was startled to see the doorknob groaning in pain.

-AUCH! WHAT WAS THAT?!?!-

-Wooh!!!! Can he talk?

-Of course I can talk! How rude of you to try to hurt my beautiful nose! Why can't one sleep in peace?! - and so appeared Mr. doorknob, a golden being that served as a door lock whose sleep was terribly interrupted.

-oh...I'm so sorry...-

-Apology not accepted now .... ...back to sleep, good night! - with a yawn Mr. doorknob went back to his sleep but was still being interrupted by the redhead, at the same time Pluto was barking to keep the door awake.

-Hey hey hey!!! Wait! how do I get out of here? we need to get in there!

-Oh, how? They're bigger than a refrigerator! - said the golden doorknob, still tired - if you want to leave so much, you only have to drink the potion.

-drink...what? -

And with a sign from the world itself, a table that was stuck to the floor reappeared releasing also from nowhere two well cared jars, one was orange and the other blue, Kairi approached the table while Pluto with his two paws rushed to the height of the table to hold and sniff the two objects.

-one says “to grow” and the other “to shrink”...- so he repeated it as the bottles said, and as they had nothing to lose Kairi took the bottle of was to shrink and took a drink of it, she saw how the walls became bigger and wider and the floor more extensive but it was not that the place became big, on the contrary! The young redhead and her dog had shrunk to the size of an egg, they were at the perfect height to enter the door that was now bigger for them, if it wasn't for the fact that Mr. doorknob again had fallen asleep and there was no way to wake him up, much less since Kairi wouldn't have the strength she used when she pulled the doorknob, so they had to think of a plan to get out of the room.

Pluto began to bark again indicating to Kairi the table that was now gigantic, where the vials were located, it seems that he was indicating her to climb up to the table to take the growth vial, With a little agility (and experience climbing trees) Kairi managed to hold on to the edge of the table helping Pluto and was able to climb it, this time she would take the sip of the potion to grow and the effect was fast because once she took the sip her body and Pluto's body returned to what they were before. Now they were big, but that would not solve the problem of the door, so they had to think fast until the girl noticed something, on the bed in the corner of the room there was an opening, a hole with the same shape of the door, to which she thought “if I can move the bed and shrink later, we can get out of this room” She observed the dog who nodded thinking about the same idea so they went to execute it. With a push the bed returned to stick to the wall and the opening was more visible, the redhead took the drink to shrink and they returned to the small size they adopted before and with that they had an accessible way to the next room.

The next room was quite abnormal to what she thought it would be, they were surrounded by large green walls of symmetrically cut trees, they were in a green and wide labyrinth which would be difficult to reach. She spoke as usual, thinking of what to say.

-I never thought there would be a garden here...but...considering we were talking to a doorknob a moment ago - well...this would become more routine, wouldn't it?

Far away from the green walls, leaping and flying along the green walls of the labyrinth were the Heartless on the prowl, if their presence was noticeable then this place was in danger. Although Kairi still does not have the necessary experience to face them, she would not hesitate to try, she learned magic thanks to the Fairy Godmother and even with the key she can eliminate them in one blow so she believed that everything will be fine, she just had to eliminate the Heartless from the place and look for clues about the whereabouts of her friends.

Pluto on the other hand detected a smell thanks to his sharp nose and with a couple of barks he started to run to look for the trail, on the other hand Kairi went behind the dog so as not to be so far behind and get lost easier from this maze all confused. The path led them to an entrance to a very particular garden, a place where the most beautiful white roses and .... red?....freshly painted...?

Indeed, in the trees the white roses were freshly painted by the red color and it could be noticed that the paint was still dripping from their petals, Kairi did not stop looking curiously at such an act until she heard a cheerful and motivating chant on the other side, the sound took her to another area of the garden where to her surprise she found more people...or so it seemed.

-Paithing the roses red, we're paiting the roses red~

The sound came from a chant by some strange people who were not really people, but cards! The group found themselves with buckets and brooches full of red paint, and next to a ladder, they themselves were responsible for painting the white roses red.

-We dare not stop or waste a drop, so let the paint be spread, We're paiting the roses red, we're paiting the roses red~ -the cards continued with their singing, painting each rose, curiosity led the girl to approach the singing cards who were hurrying to leave all the red roses.

-ammm...excuse me? Hello? - introduced herself to the girl to whom she gently tapped what was supposed to be the shoulder of one of the cards, one who had the bucket with the skewer turned to see the redhead.

-Pardon me but...Why are they painting the roses? -

-Huh? Oh!-The question may be a bit incredulous but it left the group surprised and one of them from the surprise smeared two of his painting partners who quickly cleaned up.

-I know why! - At the bottom, who was sitting on the stairs was someone else and delicately descending from her, she introduced herself, it was a young girl with curly blonde hair and a blue and white dress, still holding a bucket and a red paint skewer, she went towards Kairi bowing in greeting.

-It just so happens that the cards needed help to paint all the roses carmine!

-Really? and why?

Well you see miss...- this time the one who answered was Mr. three of clubs - we planted the white roses by mistake and... -

- the queen, she likes them red, if she saw white instead... -

-she'd raise a fuss... - added the Mr. Ace of clubs.

-And each of us...- continued the Mr. two of clubs.

-Would quickly lose his head!- finished Mr. three.

-What? That's terrible!” said Kairi putting her hand on her neck as if she felt the sensation of having her head cut off, the same expression made Pluto trembling.

-Since this is the thought we dread, we're paiting the roses red!- the three uniformed men joined in, continuing with their work of painting all the roses, but the trees with white roses were too many and they did not finish before her majesty arrived.

-That's why I gave them a hand, I can't allow them to be punished for a small mistake," pleaded the young girl who out of a kind heart decided to help those poor cards, and then the girl returned to her place painting more roses next to the cards, both Kairi and Pluto looked at each other and both came to the same conclusion

-we can't let them be punished for that...come on Pluto! Let's help to finish quickly.-

With another bucket in hand and a skewer the girl went to another tree with white flowers to paint them red, the clover cards and the girl in blue saw the action and also decided to help the redhead, on the other hand Pluto with his snout held the paint pot for Kairi who happily with the group varnished the carmine roses, between more chants everyone helped each other painting these roses.

Although not all would be well, because some Heartless began to come out of the bushes, this alarmed both the cards and the young blonde, Kairi did not hesitate to get into position and go ahead to fight with the creatures.

-Don't come closer, I can take them - said the girl raising her arm to invoke her weapon, she executed her Piro magic to perfection launching several blasts to the enemies, those that fell she took advantage to accept a few hits and make them disappear, Pluto also participated with crushing them when they fell or chasing them to bring them closer to the girl.

-They are destroying the queen's garden! Don't let them escape!" said the lord of the three that with his order his comrades went to fight by his side, the card lords would not stay with their arms crossed and helped the Weilder, so with their skewers still soaked with red paint and their buckets they fought side by side with the young girl, on the other hand the blonde girl hid to avoid being hurt.

In the face of so much chaos and disorder they managed to chase away as many of the Heartless as they could.

-Thank you very much, young lady! We couldn't do it by ourselves- Said Mr. Three.

-Yes! We're just simple clover gardeners-Said Mr. Ace.

-No problem guys, you needed a hand, didn't you? - replied the redhead more enthusiastic, she had done well being a simple battle and even getting help from the clovers. The blonde approached to also thank Kairi.

-What you did was brave! I know I didn't ask before but what's your name?

-My name is Kairi and the one here is Pluto -

- Nice to meet you Kairi, my name is Alice - the young woman bowed in thanks with a smile.

They continued with their work, eliminating some Heartless that crossed their path and finishing all the red roses. In less time they had finished painting almost the entire garden, which was impeccable due to the excellent team work, but their activity was interrupted by the sound of a trumpet.

-Oh no! The queen!

-eh???-

-the queen!!!!

-the queen?

-the queen !!!!

The shamrocks panicked when they recognized the trumpet, as it indicated the arrival of his majesty, they quickly hid all the material, the ladder they threw it to the next garden, stumbling and hitting each other without knowing where to go or what to do, they emptied all the paint they had in the buckets, they threw the skewers and quickly went to their position lying on the ground, even one of them was left with a paint pot right on his head, Kairi, Alice and Pluto were also taken to hide the stuff and then were dragged to the ground, the two girls and the dog did the same since it was a queen and even though they don't know her it is better to show respect. The red cards arrived to perform their welcome march in a synchronized way and after being classified from 1 to 10 and ending with the king card a small trumpet sounded hurriedly to who was presented now was the white rabbit, the blonde girl did not avoid to be surprised to know that since it seems to be that she knows the rabbit.

The white rabbit tired of his trot and trying to catch his breath made the presentation to his majesty.

-Her imperial highness...her illustriousness...her excellency...her royal majesty...the queen of hearts!...- all her guards applauded and praised her before the arrival of her majesty which was a big and robust woman wearing a big dress of red, white and black colors and with her crown that showed her position. And next to her another figure appeared, a man smaller than her with a moustache and a large crown, even reaching the height of the white rabbit, he with his heart scepter made gestures to the rabbit so that he would also present it.

-oh...and the king...-unlike the queen, the king did not receive much praise...well...only one...

-hurray!- said someone in the background as the king greeted him

But at that instant the crowd went silent after the queen noticed something, something that was out of place before her eyes, the queen with such big footsteps approached one of the rose trees with a furious attitude, what had caught her attention was a single dripping red rose, the paint was still dry on that rose and it was quickly noticed that under that layer of crimson there were white petals, this the queen will not allow.

-Who painted the roses with carmine? WHO PAINTED THESE ROSES? IT WILL COST THEM BIG! I WILL HAVE TO CUT OFF HIS HEAD!

The queen's temperament was quite fierce, just by noticing a small mistake she became more than annoyed, quite a lot they would say since with her strength she pulled up the poor tree that was not to blame, but it was the authority who spoke and whatever the queen says must be done, she set her threat to 3 guilty and pitiful letters frightened by her scolding.

-No your majesty!!! It wasn't me!!! It was him!

-please your majesty have mercy!!!

-not your majesty!!! it was all his idea!!! it was Ace's!!! he was the one who thought of painting them!!!!

-SHUT UP EVERYONE!!! YOU ARE ALL GUILTY!!!!! YOU WILL ALL LOSE YOUR HEADS!!!!

The pleas of the poor cards did not work before her majesty who dictated immediately her sentence, the poor cards were dragged by the red cards to their execution destiny without putting resistance and resigned to their execution, the other cards sang before the punishment and the queen with a shout ordered to silence all her subjects, at that moment the young blonde got up from the floor.

Your majesty, you should not punish them, they wanted to help_-

-and what is this?- the queen paid attention now to whom she was addressing but it seemed that she herself did not recognize who they were, because she also noticed two others who were next to the girl, the king approached the blonde girl checking her and also approached the other young woman and her dog.

-Let me see my queen! Humm this is strange, it doesn't look like a two or a three, and the other one, although she is red, I don't see that she is an Ace either.

-Ace, do you think I'm a card? -Kairi finally opened her mouth after all that had happened. Now the queen finally recognized them

-But they are only two adorable girls- the change in the queen's attitude suddenly changed from a grumpy one to a welcoming and tender one, maybe it was tender to see two young girls in her chambers.

- Y-yes and I was just hoping that_ - the girl lowered her gaze out of shyness, something that seemed to be a habit in her, the queen immediately noticed it and scolded the blonde.

-Look up! speak to me with respect!!! don't play with your fingers!!!!!

The queen shouted at poor Alice who was playing with her fingers to talk, this was enough to scare her, on the other hand she focused now on Kairi who was petrified by the shout.

-and what do you want my other child?-

I-I...w-well your majes_-

-Don't stutter!!! speak clearly and no stammering!!!- the scolding was stronger than the previous one that even Pluto hid himself not to be scolded too, now both girls were in front of the strict queen.

-You two!!! put your heels together, your feet out!! Curtsy girls!!! Curtsy!!! and with your mouths wide open say with me YES YOUR MAJESTY!!!!

-YES YOUR MAJESTY!!!- united the girls raise their voices to be heard well, the queen at last was happy and with a few taps on her head she was satisfied with the recent education she made with the young girls.

-Very good girls, now then...where are you from and what brings you here? -

-Well you see your majesty, I just wanted to know _-

-KNOW?! NOBODY HERE KNOWS MORE THAN ME!!!-The shout was enough to knock the poor girl to the ground, but she continued speaking.

-I'm sorry your majesty, I was just hoping that _-

-Curtsy while yo're thiking, it saves time-

-yes your majesty, but I wanted to ask _-

-Here the one who asks the questions is me!-The queen did not let the poor girl speak, she was still on the floor, at that moment the queen looked at Kairi who was now more scared to answer.

-You have a nice hair color- said the queen in a pleasant tone to the previous one she had.

-Thank you very much your majesty, but i wonder_-

-Girl the skirt! Use the skirt to bow before me-

-Yes your majesty!!!-

-That's the way to talk, and why did you come here? I haven't seen someone like you around here...quick! be brief!

Well! the truth is that I came here because I was looking for my friends and I was wondering what _-

-I AM WHO MAKING THE QUESTIONS!!!-

-But I haven't even finished_-

-HERE THE QUESTIONS ARE ASKED BY ME!!!! - It was impossible to talk to her either because of her stubbornness or her need to be right all the time, it was worse for Kairi because she could only remember how she and her friends were scolded when they made mischief. The queen approached the two of them to tell them something in secret.

-Tell me, do you two know how to play Croquet?

-Yes, your majesty.

-Croquet?

-Then let the game begin! - she didn't even let poor Kairi answer and in no time at all the red cards were quickly organized to create a croquet field for her majesty, they were fast enough to leave everything as the game indicated, they also brought those who would be the cricket sticks and balls which were nothing more than some flamingos as sticks and some small hedgehogs as balls....

-To your places, all of you! to your places! it's the king's orders! the queen wanted it that way! - said the little king, who was a part of the organization and who was ignored by everyone.

So they prepared to compete against the queen, who with her sleeves rolled up was ready for her game, she took one of the flamingos ready to perform her role and the queen got into play, showing off her crocket skills she made her move by hitting the ball, although in reality she didn't actually do it because she didn't even hit it, the king as tiny as he was moved the hedgehog with his scepter indicating it to move, quickly the hedgehog woke up and ran to roll on the floor, the cards that served as hoops moved as the hedgehog passed over it to add more points to her majesty. Now it was clearer the intention, in fact the queen was not good at the game...she was extraordinarily cheating, although no one could say it against her, because they would lose their heads if she mentioned the slightest mistake.

All her subjects and the king congratulated her highness, and so did the two girls, even knowing what they were doing and how unfair the game was, they could not do anything and just clapped their hands.

The show continued with the queen winning every round and now it was the blonde's turn to go to her post, on the other hand Kairi saw in the distance the gentlemen of the trees recently arrested in golden cages, it seems that they are still sad because they will be executed for their mistake but they had to be part of the public to encourage the queen, Kairi saw them and greeted them to not make them feel bad but then she was called.

-It's your turn young ladies,” said the queen who had already finished her game, now she wanted to see how the girls played, especially the redhead who called her attention the most and indicated that she should be the first one to play.

-But my queen, I don't know how to play Croquet”.

-Just kicking the ball will be enough.

-I understand your majesty, but I don't even know how to play the rules.

-Just throw the ball and play!

-My sincere apologies your majesty- resigned she had to play and approached one of the cricket “sticks” that went crazy when the girl tried to take one, the flamingos began to fly and flap their wings while the poor girl held them by their long legs to prevent them from escaping, all this show brought laughter from the subjects, everyone except the blonde and pluto laughed at such ridiculousness.

-Take your stick and play!!!! - with just a shout from the queen everyone calmed down, even one of the flamingos stopped flying and behaved, kairi decided to take him and have to play what she could, but it was more difficult than she thought, to start with the same flamingo that she uses as a stick did not obey her, he kept playing relaxing his neck, he pecked her every time she approached him and did not stop moving his wings to run away while the young lady tried to hold him, Pluto had to come to help her barking and growling at the animal.

-If you want this to continue then fine! - The poor thing got tired and let go of her flamingo, and with her hand outstretched she invoked the keyblade, she had had enough and decided to take measures for one game. This did not please the queen and began to make a plea that it is not allowed to use other types of sticks that are not dictated by her, but Kairi did not pay attention, and less attention when a pair of Heartless appeared behind her majesty, Pluto began to alert with his barking of what was happening but no one took importance until the Heartless began to attack the field, the Croquet game became a field of Heartless.

-What kind of things are those?!?!!! - The queen was surprised but also her anger rose, because they were not welcome to her enclosures, she raised her scepter to indicate her knights to fight for her majesty, many of the Heartless, some big and sturdy as balls, others small and flying cause many problems to the cards that had no way to share with them without flying away. 

-Alice hid!” said the young girl ready to battle again and indicating her friend to be careful, Pluto also joined the fight.

Chapter Text

The more the Heartless came out, the more they also disappeared, the magic was more effective against the creatures than Kairi thought, she only had to concentrate on taking one down with a blast of fire and hit them when they were on the ground, this left her tired, she barely had enough strength to stand up, she seemed to faint at any moment but she tried everything to continue well, it was a lot of effort to fight, Pluto at her side tried to be used as a support so she wouldn't fall even though the girl said she felt fine.

Everything would be in order, the danger was over, although the same could not be said of the garden that suffered from the consequences of the Piro magic, the rest would be fine if it were not for the queen, with a burning red in her face pointed to the young girl to whom several of her soldiers began to point their spears at her.

-Arrest her now! - the queen's order was absolute and all her subordinates had the poor redhead surrounded.

-What is this? Why is she doing it?

-Don't fool me you cheating child!!! Did you think you wouldn't get away with it?“ said the queen who was even more furious in her voice, ”you think you can cheat me?!

-But what are you talking about," said the girl still confused.

-Don't play with me!!! You knew you were losing so you used your tricks to win the game!!!- as her majesty sounded, her annoyance was not only because strange creatures appeared and came to attack, she was actually angry because she thought Kairi cheated her in the Crocket.

-And on in addition to that!!! you left a mess in the royal garden!!!! - the queen pointed to the scorched field of fire, all a mess.

-And-and as dictated by decree N#179, made by her majesty: anyone who breaks the queen's rules by using foreign objects of dubious provenance will be sentenced to lose their heads!!!" said the little king behind her majesty reading the law on a scroll he pulled out, though no one heard it because the bearer spoke up in annoyance.

-That is absurd!

-You dare to defy me?" said the queen with a stronger shade of red in her face.

-It's not fair to punish me like this! I saved her from the heartless!!! and I know I hurt her because of her garden but you don't have to blame me for cheating if I never did it! You don't have to punish people who end up helping her!

-SILENCE!!!- her majesty's shout was able to move the winds leaving everyone silent including the poor redhead in the middle of all the chaos.

-NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO!!! I AM THE QUEEN!!! AND AS QUEEN I IMMEDIATELY ORDERED YOU TO LOSE YOUR HEAD!!!

-But!

-NO BUTS!!! CUT OFF HER HEAD!!!

The queen's shout was louder, many soldier cards flew out, the king and the white rabbit hid behind some bushes, nobody could do anything.

-Please, your majesty," the young Alice approached the girl who was still reprimanded by her majesty. - You don't have to do that, maybe I could-".

-Are you ordering me?

-N-No your majesty! I'm just _

-NOBODY ORDERS ME TO DO ANYTHING! You WILL BOTH LOSE YOUR HEADS!!!- and one more scream rang out from the queen and so much so that one of the surviving armored Heartless jumped over her majesty's scream and dropped his helmet which flew away, and just as unluckily it landed on the queen's head, knocking her out and landing straight on the ground.

All her subjects and the staff went to help her highness releasing the redhead, Alice stayed close to Kairi and Pluto waiting for the worst, even the clover lords still tied up by their punishment were worried and at the same time scared for her highness.

-My Queen! Is she all right? All the soldiers hurry to help her - although useless was the orders given by the king, he was also trying to help despite his size.

Many of the heart cards created a barricade around the queen to help her or rather, preventing something worse to come, for the queen woke up even more with her anger and everyone was alarmed but fell silent once the queen landed from her great leap. The red in her face was more intense, her hair was more disheveled and her breathing was becoming more and more agitated.

-GUILTY!!! GUILTY EVERYONE!!!- shouted the queen, looking all around with that accumulated anger she had, the girls were also scared of what the queen was going to do, Kairi kept holding her keyblade in defense position.

W-W-W-Who...? - The frightened king tried to talk to her majesty but he also kept himself hidden because if he said something bad the queen would punish him too.

-WHO WAS THE ONE WHO... .THE ONE WHO ... .he.... .ehm...- there was a moment of uncomfortable pause, because the queen was trying to formulate that question that she wanted so much but she could not say it, everybody was looking at her confused, the queen did not stop looking at whoever or whatever she wanted to say, even the young girls were the same.

-Your majesty... are you all right? - Alice answered, still behind Kairi and shyly playing with her fingers, the young girl was the only one to speak and respond to such an act that happened, but she seemed to have something.

-What are you doing? - Kairi spoke softly, because she knew that if they said that the queen would punish them.

-I think I have something, trust me," answered the blonde while the queen noticed that they were the only ones standing out among the cards.

-You two! who are you?! my head hurts..." the queen was feeling her head due to the blow she had just received, something was happening to her but she couldn't remember.

-Your majesty...we...- Alice took some time to think fast what to answer without being punished and suddenly her friend had an idea.

-We are culprit apprehension officers! - Kairi stepped forward to speak, and like the rest of the cards they looked at both girls in confusion, but she remained firm until she waited for the queen to say.

-What?

-You ordered me and my friend to capture the culprit who broke into your game, don't you remember my queen?" said Alice continuing the thread, the blow her majesty received has deprived her of her recent memory, she can't remember what it was and what she did a few moments ago, and much less she can remember them and Pluto, so what Alice did was to lie saying they were on her side and ignoring her just reprimanded.

-I...You...what?

-Of course we are your majesty, can't you remember? You faithfully ordered us to capture the culprit before he attacks her." Alice looked at her companion, hoping that she too would speak up to defend herself against her majesty.

-Y-yes! It's true your majesty, you called us to capture the culprit and that's what this is about_-

they did not know if the lie would work on her, in part they hoped it would, but with the queen's temperament at its peak, they did not expect it to work.

-OF COURSE I REMEMBER! I ALWAYS REMEMBER WHY I AM THE QUEEN! NO ONE TELLS ME I'M WRONG!" said the queen, silencing everyone as her voice was able to move even the nearby trees.

-I ALWAYS REMEMBER EVERYTHING, NOBODY DENIES ME HERE! She looked at all the others, who nodded respectfully and even recklessly. Why are they still here?

-W-Well, we _-

-No excuses! GO AFTER THAT THUG OR I'LL CUT YOUR HEAD OFF!“ the strong voice of her majesty made them back out but with that order they were saved from the queen's more severe punishment, the girls nodded to leave to capture ”that culprit", and they left together with Pluto, still scared, where Kairi entered before, but she herself stopped just to do something noble.

-Your Majesty? May I?

-What?

-You also called someone else to help us.

- And who in?

-The lords of the clovers, Your majesty. -The whole crowd immediately turned their attention to the poor clovers still tied up before their new punishment.

-What?" said the three poor punished people in uniform, even they themselves were surprised by what the redhead was saying, the queen looked at them and then turned to look at her.

-Did I do it?

-Don't you remember, your majesty? You said that by her order the shamrocks were to help us to pardon her sentence, and_-

-Y-your majesty...I could do it if I simply - the King also wanted to participate by grabbing one end of the Queen's dress to get her attention but the Queen once again shouted.

-Don't correct me!!!!! OF COURSE I KNOW!!!- the queen shushed the young woman and even trying to remember she had nowhere to contradict what she apparently said, and already frustrated she approached the clovers....

-All right...you three!" her majesty looked at her three clover gardeners, so frightened and so vulnerable they continued to obey their queen, still showing discipline. - You were ordered by me to capture this culprit, weren't you?

The cards did not know what to answer, in the background Kairi was signaling to please go with the flow, for if they agreed they would be released and she could get out of her sentence, the lord of the three took the floor.

-Of course your majesty!!!!

-We'll handle it!

-And we solve!

-The uniformed men spoke and accepted their new job. The queen, still with the impotence of not remembering, had no other choice, she did not want to admit it, much less in front of her people.

-All right! What are you loitering there then? get out of my garden!!!- the queen pushed and dragged her clover vassals towards the girls and gave them the final order.

-And don't come back until you find that bastard who did this!!! did you hear!!!!!!

-Yes your majesty!

The path to which they headed was a giant garden, full of various types of very large plants, bigger in fact because they were still in a small size, the flowers that stand out more were the colorful orchids that were in different parts of the garden, now Kairi was accompanied by not only Pluto, but Alice and the 3 clover cards to which they rescued, there was a moment of silence as they moved forward to finally assimilate everything.

-Thank you very much young lady!!!!

-We owe you our lives!!!

-Today we don't lose our heads!!!!

Each of the cards knelt down, hugged and thanked the redhead for such a noble act, with exaggerated cries the cards were grateful for life.

-You don't have to be like that, I didn't do it all myself," she said.

Kairi looked at the young Alicia surprised by the reaction of the cards, then she turned to the blonde.

-By the way...how did you know?

-Well...with how little I knew the queen, she wouldn't accept a mistake, and even more so coming from her, wouldn't she?

In a way it made sense, the queen of hearts was a stubborn person, who would not accept a no as an answer, but also because of that stubbornness she would not accept that she made mistakes, Alicia took advantage of the queen's temporary amnesia and took the risk of altering that truth, and since none of her subjects dared to tell the truth, things worked out better than they thought.

-Thank you Alice.

-No problem, after all, we are all friends," said the girl with a smile overflowing with light, then Mr. Ace spoke.

-Still my friends, we must capture the one who did this to the queen! We can't let him hurt her majesty!

-Yes! We must capture the creature - the cards were determined, they swore to do the best job for their queen, Kairi on the other hand remained thoughtful, trying to find out where are the rest of the heartless that fled just in the Croquet game.

-If I remember correctly...Leon mentioned that the heartless seek and stalk hearts....

-Hearts? - Alice asked a bit scared.

-Yes... I saw it where I came from, and it will be here too... if only we had a clue... where they all come from...".

Among the shadows of the garden, beyond the sight of our characters a malicious laughter could be heard in every corner, all those who were there heard such laughter, the first to react was Pluto whose hair on his back was bristling, he growled angrily looking at a nothing that soon became something, because from that nothing appeared a pink figure with purple, which to take a full form was witnessed the appearance of a peculiar cat. The cards were hugging each other with fear trying to show bravery although useless, on the other hand Kairi trying to hold Pluto by the collar of his neck wielded her Keyblade before that unknown creature that did not stop smiling at her and her companions.

-But what do I see and what don't I see, a red one, a blue one, 3 clovers and several shadows," that cat spoke, without taking his smile off his face, showing his uneasy look towards the group still distrustful of their guest.

-What do you mean," said the redhead.

-It's too bad they can't see the shadows, if they don't see them, the shadows will catch them.

-Shadows? - the three in clover spoke first, followed by his companions.

-But it's a beautiful day.

-Yes! There is a forecast of strong sunshine," replied the three naively, but the answer was clear to the young woman.

-You mean the heartless, don't you?" the girl looked even more at the cat, who was still smiling, and was even happier to see that someone had caught it.

-The shadow hides wherever it wants, the best way to find it is to give it some light," the cat began to fade away, leaving the group alone but still hearing its laughter.

-Wait! Don't leave us! At least help us find it!" the girl pleaded to nothingness, waiting again for the cat to appear, luckily it came back although only its head was visible, and still smiling was it.

-Well, I can help you find it, the shadow likes to hide in the darkest corners, there is a path there, where it returns you to where it started its adventure," he said returning again to his full form as he stretched and played with himself.

-But be careful! The shadow wants light, and wherever it is, the shadow will get it, jijiji-

And so the cat disappeared completely from the presence of the others, both the cards and the girls looked at each other, Pluto had finally relaxed from his restlessness, it was to be expected since he didn't like cats but he had calmed down, now the group started to discuss about what they have to do.

-According to what the cat said, we can go out here to where it is, and that's where we start....

-He means the room in the Rabbit hole?- Alicia answered- 

-You're right, we must go back there...but we can't go from the castle..." said the redhead, turning to look at the path where they had gone out before, until she then turned to the good lord of three.

-Excuse me, do you know another way to get to the Rabbit hole?

-The Rabbit hole, you say? There are many ways to get there!

-We can go by the hatter's house," said Mr. Ace.

-Yes, his house is nearby, and he can take us back to the Rabbit hole.

-Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go visit that Mad Hatter!

On the way to the Lotus garden they encountered different dangers, each time the appearance of the heartless was more intense, larger and more dangerous creatures emerged to damage their path but Kairi managed to handle the situation with the help of her magic, although she did not take all the credit, the cards even with their skewers battled with the girl to get rid of the creatures, Pluto was not missing either, he kept crushing the smaller creatures and attracting the big ones to be cornered, it was not easy but it was enough to eliminate a sufficient number and keep moving forward, Alice followed them from behind, she was not someone who contributed a lot but she kept giving moral support to her companions. Once finished cleaning the area Alice approached the redhead to talk.

-Tell me Kairi, what really brings you here?

-Me? well... I'm traveling to look for my friends... 

-oh, so you're looking for them here?

-Yes, by any chance Alice...have you seen two boys around here?" the girl asked as they went on their way, Alice put her hand on her chin trying to remember.

-Well...I haven't really seen anyone in particular, and I've seen a lot of people around here.

-I see...

-Did they split up? How did it happen? -

-I... I really don't know...

-I hope you find them.

-Thank you...and tell me Alice, why are you here?

Well...at first I saw the white rabbit passing by when I was in the garden...and I started to chase it, I don't know why I did it, but the thing is that I ended up here...now I just want to go back home- 

-Do you want to go back?

yes...this world, as wonderful as it is, is not my home and to be honest, I miss my home...I would like to go back and meet Diana and my sister...-

-I see...

“home” was what the redhead thought when she remembered hers, to which now she will not be able to return, as Cid mentioned long ago in their first meeting, the worlds that fall because of darkness are destroyed and just the islands were one of them, she had nowhere to return to and that made her afraid.... She also thought about what happened to the other inhabitants, what happened to her parents... her neighbors, her companions, what happened to Tidus, Wakka and Selphie... what happened to everyone who never made it out of the islands? ...will they all be well too? or...

Her hand moved slightly due to Pluto's muzzle, he seemed to want a caress from the young girl, or maybe something else, but what he reciprocated was a pat on his head, Kairi understood what the dog wanted to tell her “Everything will be all right” she thought and there was no way, it was not the time to get discouraged.

-We arrived friends!- her thought vanished when she heard Mr. Ace indicating that they arrived at the Mad Hatter's house, entering through a small wooden door led them to the garden where they found a large table, full of different types of tea cups, some untouched desserts and several cutlery scattered everywhere, they were in the middle of a tea party, but there was no one to celebrate. The cards searched and called the hatter all over the garden, they looked under the table, through the green bushes, one even looked through the cups even if it was impossible to find them there...or not.

-Guys! I found someone!

The others approached Mr. Deuce to see that someone was inside a teapot, Mr. Three quickly called out who it was but Mr. Deuce shut him up and told him to speak softly, when he called out who it was with his voice avoiding all the noise a sleepy little mouse came out of the teapot.

The little mouse sang a lullaby to sleep and then went back to sleep inside the teapot.

-This is the most important clue we have ever had," said Mr. Deuce, still lowering his voice and whispering to his companions, but the girls did not understand that this was a clue.

-but he only sang a lullaby....

-and that's why it's important!

-Excuse me?

-He said that the Mad Hatter and the Hare were caught by the shadow!

-What?!" said the young red-haired girl but was quickly silenced by the cards, as they still had the mouse sleeping in the teapot, Mr. Three moved it to one end away from them so he could speak morally again and with that take the floor.

-Pardon me dear, he usually talks like that- 

-I see...

-In any case, it seems that the shadow that cat is talking about is the one that also caught the mad hatter!

-Yes, but where are they? - the cards were arguing among themselves to find out where he was.

Alice was the only one who didn't speak, because her attention was focused on a frame attached to the wall of the green mural where two people were crying.

-Hey...isn't that them?

They all turned to see what Alice was looking at and were startled to see that it was the poor Mad Hatter and the Hare, trapped in a frame of paint.

-How unfortunate!

-These shadows! They must have put them in there!

-Why would they do that to them?" asked the redhead, the heartless were the cause of having done this to them, things were not going any better because once again the smiling cat made an appearance and Pluto was once again growling.

-Poor Hatter lost his body before he lost his hat!

-That's not funny," said the girl, taking the cat's comment badly.

-Anyway, the shadow came here and now it's over there! The burrow is an easy place to hide," the cat again with that clue disappears and then from the hatter's house the front door opened, they had to continue on their way.

The group returned to the den room, but it looked strange, what was happening is that now they were all upside down, because they were on the roof of the room and once again the cheshire cat appears.

-The shadow likes the light, but there is no light here, why not turn it on to make it come back?

And once again they left them all alone, in front of them all there were some unlit lamps on some tables, where they were located, they seemed to be the ceiling lights and just as the cat said, they needed to turn them on so that the culprit would appear. Many Heartless emerged from the shadows and again the group went to attack, it was easier for everyone to collaborate, the cards were helpful to the young wielder, sometimes they gave her a hand when the magic was not effective and other times they were used as a shield, which for them was normal because they also served the Queen.

Finished cleaning the area it was time to use the light with the lamps, the problem was that they were too tall, even having that small ram stature, the room was still big because of the potion, so it still had the effect, the girl wondered now how she should go up.

-It's too tall... -

-oh my...there's no way to grow here! Those jars are up there," said Alice pointing to the now ceiling where the table from before was, where the potions for growing and shrinking were located.

-Don't worry young lady, we have this under control," said the good lord of three and together with his companions formed a line.

The three of clovers asked Kairi to climb on his shoulders to lift her up and gain height, then the two of clovers climbed on top of the lord three and at the bottom as the last one was the lord of Ace, the 4 formed a tower that was high enough to carry to the table and that was good enough because the young girl managed to cross. With her Keyblade rising upwards she lit the first lamp, but there was one more and it was in front of her but far away.

-We'll take care of it," said Ace as he led his companions to the end of the table, there Mr. Three took an edge and with his feet lifted his two companions to the next end to form a makeshift bridge.

The young woman crossed it with care not to hurt her companions even if they were only playing cards, and raised her Keyblade again to turn on the second light, the room ended up filling with light. Again the laughing cat makes its appearance.

-All right, the lights are on, then the shadow will appear, won't it?

-Stop there! That's not enough!

-What are you talking about? We did what you asked us to do.

-Yes, it's true, the light was made, but that's not what the shadow is looking for - the cat started to turn his body without moving his head, still with that disturbing laugh he has, Pluto didn't stop barking from where he was but now he was barking at something else that was coming from beyond.

-The shadow wants light, but not exactly the light you make, he is looking for the light inside you, a clear light, or also...the light from her.

The Cheshire cat pointed at Alice, who did not realize what was behind her, it was the shadow or rather a large armored Heartless who did not hesitate to capture the poor defenseless girl, no one had time to react and much less when the room began to shake, the same began to change position returning to its previous state, Gravity played with them and they were thrown downwards by the force, the fall was inevitable but the lord of three took Kairi's hand and using his peculiar shape he would bend to act as a parachute, Mr. Deuce and Ace also helped Pluto and both of them slowly lifted to the floor.

They all descended while the big Heartless was waiting for them to fight, its peculiar form so big and threatening made the group position themselves defensively in front of it, it was not easy to reach it, they still had that small stature and they could not even hit it in its weak point, Kairi used all her magic power to launch several fire blasts with the key but some were deflected or were not enough to hit it, the girl tried harder to hit it but it was impossible before the creature so big, this time it was more difficult...

Then she felt more tired and the blasts stopped appearing from her weapon, she felt weak and did not understand why, on the other hand the cards bravely faced the great heartless with what they could, with their buckets and bucklers wielding as sabers and swords they were not afraid of the great shadow. On the other hand Kairi had fainted, falling on her knees the young girl could not move a muscle anymore, she did not understand what was happening to her but she had to react before something bad happened, then....

“don't give up...it's not over...you can...I know it...Kairi! You can!”

She seemed to hear a familiar voice, she couldn't quite make it out but it was a voice she would recognize anywhere, then she felt a relief, she felt light, the weight that carried her now was lighter, when she opened her eyes she felt a blue dew falling on her.

-My dear, don't forget to hydrate!” now with a different voice who appeared was the cheshire cat, pouring over the young girl a blue potion that managed to revitalize her.

-Cat!” the girl called him, getting up from that moment of weakness.

-Now go my dear, you still have to defeat the shadow and prove his innocence.

The cat still laughing pointed to the big Heartless still facing the tired clovers giving it all, he ended up disappearing again leaving the girl alone again, Kairi should not let this go on like this, she tried to think of a plan to defeat the creature fast, observing her surroundings until she had a plan. She called Pluto to help him in his plan asking him to distract the Heartless to which the dog agreed.

Pluto started to get her attention barking at the creature, while the young girl took another path to go to the main table where the two potions were, there the lord of three noticed her and went after her.

-Oh brave friend, what are you trying to do?

-I have an idea! Can you give me a hand?

-You're the boss! - The three of clubs complied, while his two companions, still struggling, went with their partner to follow the plan.

When they reached the table, the cards again made the tower to lift the young woman up to the top of the table.

-I need your help here! When he comes here try to throw all the paint at him.

-On command!

-That's easy!

-We'll paint it like carmine!-

Said the cards together while the girl waited on top of the table, on the other side came Pluto together with the Heartless who was still chasing him and then by the order the cards started to spill all the red paint they had on him and also on the floor making the creature with its long legs start to slip on it, He started to lose his balance but he kept attacking with his flaming sticks of fire, still no one stopped him from throwing paint and making him flip all over the place until he reached the table where Kairi was, concentrating and aiming at his head to hit him with the fire magic.

“A little more, come a little closer...”

She was waiting for him to get closer to have the guaranteed shot, even with the attempt of the painting the creature was faster and previous the attack that the carrier was going to make and with a single blow of his arm the table disappeared from place, the young woman fell without being able to react, she had not made it in time to eliminate him, she was then rescued by the same lord of the three. The Heartless was more annoyed, attacking incessantly with his fire Rods, it was more difficult to approach him now that he didn't stop, now they had to come up with another plan quickly.

-The creature is coming! It's going to burn us all! And even more so having the flammable crimson color!

-That's it! - a new idea came from the girl, she asked the cards to cover her while she performed a new maneuver and with all the readiness in a close enough distance Kairi launched a strong blast of fire towards the Heartless and what happened next was just as she thought.

Because of the paint spilled all over her body the fire spread faster causing more damage to the Heartless, she had no way to put it out and now she was more than defenseless, it was the perfect opportunity to attack.

-We have to make it fall!

-We'll take care of it!” the lord of deuce answered and together with the Ace of Clubs they threw the last two jars of paint that managed to slip to the Heartless. Because of the hit of the floor the chair that accompanied the table was summoned again and this gave them a chance for Kairi to attack again, she asked the lord of three to throw her towards the chair and make her attack again.

Thus arriving again to the top of the chair she was at the mercy of the shadow, but after arriving she thought of something else, seeing her she knew that magic would not be enough to defeat, she understood well that with her Keyblade was the only way to eliminate her, just as she did with the other heartless, then she took a breath, although the idea was risky it was the only thing she thought, Kairi ended up throwing herself towards her, wielding her Keyblade to deliver a direct blow to her weak point, her head.

-You will lose your head!

Closing her eyes and with the sword held high by her two hands she managed to perform a cut, she didn't know if it was enough to disappear, however it was enough to cause more damage, either by the fire damage and by the blow of the ground the great Heartless began to glow so strong to make a non-lethal explosion, the creature was eliminated and over its remains flew a big heart that ascended in loas something until it disappeared from the place.

The victory was done, the cards and the carrier won this battle, the clover lords celebrated their victory and finally secured their salvation, while the fire and smoke faded away, Kairi was left looking around for someone after the shadow exploded.

-Alice! Alice!” the young girl tried to call the blonde who since the shadow captured her, she didn't hear anything from her, she thought that the creature had her imprisoned inside her but it seemed that it wasn't so, she was looking everywhere but she didn't find her.

-I swore you weren't going to make it in time.

Once again the Cheshire cat appeared through the dust and smoke, though only its head was visible.

-Cat, where's Alice?

-I'm sorry to tell you that the shadow did its job! It took her away, she's not here now!

-What? But how?

-It just took her, as I told you before, the shadow was looking for light and it found her with the other shadows! Poor Alice, she didn't have a chance and now the shadows will consume her.

-Consume her? What are you talking about?

Before the cat answered the sound of a trombone was heard announcing the arrival of someone, Kairi turned around to see who it was and the white rabbit entered the room, the girl when she turned around saw that the cat had disappeared again.

-I'm sorry to interrupt but I come on behalf of her majesty- the white rabbit had arrived to see the progress of the capture of the culprit, there the three cards gathered followed by Kairi and Pluto.

-We have good news for your majesty! The shadow was eliminated and will cause no more damage!

-Really? And-and where is the shadow?

-Well!...Emmmm....- the lord of three went to turn around only to notice that by the girl's attack the shadow had disappeared and there was no trace of him left unfortunately, his only proof to prove the shadow's defeat had vanished.

-Didn't they have anything?

-It's not true! We really finished it!

-They're telling the truth, Mr. Rabbit! We're the ones who eliminated the shadow!

-I'm sorry young lady, but the queen has dictated that proof of the capture of the culprit must be shown, there is nothing I can do.

The situation would have been worse if it weren't for the fact that one of the shadow's extinct flags fell from the ceiling, surprising everyone, including the white rabbit, and from the table itself, the laughing cat made its last appearance.

-W-W-W-Who is he?

-The officers are right, they attacked the shadow and finished it off.

- seriously?

-I can assure you, I saw it with several of my eyes, and also the shadow left this, it is enough as proof, the shadow is gone and the queen will laugh again.

The cat left the important clue to prove the innocence of those involved and just as it appeared, it also vanished, leaving the room alone with those involved until its last laugh ceased.

-well...as the evidence showed, then the end of the shadow that attacked Her Majesty is declared.

-Then shall we return to our positions?!

-since the officers were the ones who eliminated the shadow, their punishments will be absolved by order of the queen.

-Yes!

-We are saved!!!

-we can live!!!!!

The cards celebrated their salvation, thanks to the clue they can return to their positions as royal gardeners and will not be punished to lose their heads by the queen and they were so happy that they even started to cry for their collaboration.

-If you allow me, the queen wishes to see you all to confirm the elimination of the culprit.

-Of course, Mr. Rabbit, give us a moment,” answered the master of three and the rabbit left the room to leave the five of them alone.

-Well my friend, once again you helped us clear our names, and once again we are grateful.

-We really owe you a lot, Red!

-If you need anything you can ask us now.

The cards were addressed to the redhead, who wasn't quite in good spirits because of what had happened with Alice, but was still doing her best to be happy for the acquittal of her companions.

-You guys are welcome, you also helped me defeat the shadow, so we are even.

Kairi thanked the cards with her heart, taking them by the hand, even though the lord of the three noticed the loss of the blonde girl and wanted to take advantage of it to say a few words.

-We are truly sorry that we could not help our other friend, how about this? We commit ourselves to look for her in Wonderland as a way of thanking her.

-Of course! Alice also helped us on our journey!

-We must also help her.

These words from the clovers made Kairi no longer feel depressed, on the contrary they helped to encourage her knowing that the cards would help her to find her friend.

-Red girl and her faithful dog, once again we thank you for your help, if you need anything from us you can do it and we will come to your help.

-thank you, really...oh and you can call me Kairi-

-Then it's a honor Lady Kairi!

With a smile she said goodbye to them who took their course again to her highness' castle, now alone in the room she stayed with Pluto who she ended up caressing his head, this trip left her with several pleasant and not so pleasant experiences, now she understood the nature of what comes in her way, even so she was still disappointed not to find clues about Sora or Riku, it seemed that in this trip she didn't get anything...or so it seemed.

-Ahhhh is that they can't let a poor guy like me sleep? between yawns spoke Mr. doorknob, the girl had completely forgotten about him, he was still asleep or he was trying to do it since all the noise had awakened him from his sleep, but something was happening, from the mouth of the lock something was sprouting, in the distance and what the two adventurers could see was a keyhole.

That inside there was only darkness, at that moment the Keyblade suddenly appeared in Kairi's hand, giving off a strong light at the tip of the key and a beam pointed to that lock, thus emitting a sound of something closing, both friends noticed the sound, but did not understand what just happened, Kairi stared at Pluto if he had also heard it, the dog nodded but did not know how to answer where it came from, it was strange that ....

“What was that? Why...the key reacted like that?...what's going on?”

Finally the carrier returned to the place of origin, just at the entrance of the burrow was the Gumi ship waiting for them and again they set course to their next destination, on this trip they met new friends and several obstacles, and that was something that in the future they will continue to face, but there was nothing to fear, because the key is the one who guides them to their borrowed destiny.

Chapter Text

Her next destination was on the way, during her trip Kairi couldn't take her eyes off the window of the ship, she was thinking about Alicia, and how the poor girl was kidnapped by the shadows and that she couldn't do anything for her, it was frustrating, just standing there without being able to do anything tormented her, and although the trebols told her that they would do their best to look for her that doesn't take away that she was partly to blame.

“I wonder where they are too...could it be that they were also taken by the Heartless?"

The young girl thought as she remembered her friends and thought of the worst that would happen to them if it was true that they were also swallowed by the shadows, that terrified her, but in her heart she trusted that somewhere they would be out there, safe and sound, she could only imagine Sora taking a nap in the middle while Riku scolded him for lazing around.

“hehehe...what a Lazy bom.”

She let out a chuckle that Pluto instantly felt it, he also wanted to be part of the laughter of the young girl, Kairi for her part stroked the head of the dog who received her with much encouragement, things were not going so bad, they traveled to a new world, they met new people and although she has had no clues about the whereabouts of her friends she still did not want to lose hope, after all Kairi has always been positive.

The next destination they had was what looked like a golden stadium, there was a large gate welcoming them to the Olympus Colosseum, home of the heroes and learned heroes who were born and raised to face great battles, or so it said on one of the boards near the entrance which was promoting an upcoming tournament, Kairi was quite fascinated by all the heroic and resplendent environment of the place, she could see the big giant statues that crossed their swords in battle position, this reminded her of her friends Sora and Riku in their typical fights in the islands, and now talking about them she couldn't waste more time contemplating the place, she had a clear objective, to find her friends.

The girl and the dog did not hesitate to enter the entrance door to the stadium where they found a golden room with shelves ready for the future trophies, inside they were not alone because there was a kind of...goat? That was what she thought, since what she saw, despite being on her back, was a small man with goat legs instead of normal legs, he was doing some repairs to a board in front of him, so he did not notice the visit of the two strangers.

-am...excuse me?

-Ah, there you are, boy! Come and help me by moving this pedestal.

Kairi turned to the other side to see a big stone pedestal, at first sight it looked quite heavy, even she hesitated to do it since she knew she didn't have the strength to move such a big object.

-sorry but I can't! It's too heavy!

-Heavy? - the man was surprised. - What do you mean, heavy?! Have you gone soft, Herc?” the man turned to address the person he had mentioned, but he was more surprised to find a red-haired girl and a yellow dog.

-Oh, who are you? No, no, no, no! Never mind! You have no business being here!

-How rude! -the girl bent down in annoyance with her arms on her hips -you can't kick us out of here whatever you are!

-hey! I'm not whatever! my name is Philoctetes! and I'm a trainer of heroes!” the man became more enraged at the girl's attack, walking from hoof to hoof.

-For the sake of clarity, this tournament is entered by the toughest and strongest opponents from all corners and no offense to you girl, you don't have the ability to enter.

-Why do you think I can't? You know you shouldn't judge by appearances -reacted the girl putting a pout on her face as a sign of annoyance and meanwhile Pluto didn't stop growling at the goat man for such an offense to her friend. - But since you mentioned it...people from other places come here?

-exactly what you're hearing, here come those who want to become heroes, this is not a playground, this is a real competition.

“a competition...in which all those who are heroes come to test themselves here...maybe here are Sora and Riku!” That was the idea that the redhead had, since in competitions like this both her friends won't hesitate to enter to test their strength(especially Sora).

-Then they might be here! hey you! do you know by any chance if two boys entered here ? They look like _-

-More respect little girl! can't you say please? -Phil interrupted her asking for her respect to him. 

-oh.... so PLEASE can you tell me who came in here?

-There was no need to shout it girl! - said the Satyr, crossing his arms.

-And even if I wanted to, I can't tell you the names of the contestants, that's confidential between sponsor and competitor.

-Well, if that's the way it is, then I want to sign up,” said the girl, showing her optimism and firmness.

-You?! as a hero?!?!!! ahahahahahah!!!- the man did not stop laughing at this joke in bad taste which kept bothering the girl and Pluto in defense started to bark trying to say that it was true about the heroine.

-No offense girl, but I don't see you even lifting a simple weight-

-Hey! I've already faced several monsters in my journeys!!! I can be a hero just like the ones you mention!

-If you say so, then why can't you lift a simple rock like this?” he said pointing to the stone pedestal that he asked to be moved a while ago.

-Well...because it is heavy!

-That's not true! If you really want to be a hero you should...move...-Phil tried to move the pedestal to demonstrate how he should, but to no avail he couldn't move it, not even an inch, Kairi chuckled a little at what Phil was trying to do.

-W-Well... it's not all about muscles...” he said panting from exhaustion, he even threw himself to the floor because he couldn't take it anymore.

-Phil was clear with the girl, in a fight there will always be injuries and that is something inevitable, the Satyr wanted to prevent the girl from getting hurt and avoid problems, although he did not know the brave acts she had done during her trip, he still wanted to prevent a future tragedy, on the other hand Kairi understood the situation she was in, she herself thought that she could... get in the way....

-...well...I get it- she bowed her head although trying not to feel down, Phil quickly noticed it and changed his posture.

-Don't worry girl, if you want I can give you a ticket for the bleachers, you can watch the competition,” Phil handed Kairi a ticket for guest seating, but only to watch but not to fight.

- I'm sorry I can't help you, but maybe if you watch the competition you will be able to see who you are looking for.

-...I understand, thank you very much” said the girl taking the ticket and trying to smile nicely, there she indicated Pluto to retire and leaving Phil alone in his previous work.

Finally the opening trumpets of the tournament were heard with all the wrestlers ready in the great coliseum and although Kairi did not manage to enter the competition, she tried not to make a big deal out of it. Pluto on the other hand was approaching her leg to encourage her since he was feeling the downturn she had with the goat man.

-Don't worry Pluto...he is right...someone like me is not made for these things. -She was aware that battles were not her forte, in fact just remembering, Kairi was not one of those people who enjoyed fighting, she could sometimes pretend to wield a wooden sword and pretend to be some character, but it was not her forte at all, it was not her being, she just wanted to be a quiet person, they were just child's play... or so she had thought all her life... several memories came to her head, she was so immersed that she did not notice anyone near her.

-In the deepest part of the heart, there is a desire, and the desire is a manifestation of what the heart really wants, don't you agree? 

Both the girl and her dog were frightened when they noticed a sinister presence, it was almost the same as the darkness but there was something strange about it, when she turned around she saw that who was talking was nothing more than a woman in black, with a long and extravagant dress, black hair partly braided like a long ponytail, along with a long lock of hair covering the left side of her face, this woman presented herself as someone mysterious.

-Who are you?

-Who am I? I am the answers to your questions...” The woman turned her face to contemplate the young woman full of light that she could perceive.

-You can call me Lulu.

-Lulu...?

-It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kairi!

-How do you know my name?

-I've been told a lot about you, especially my old teacher, I don't know if her name is mentioned these days, but she's known as the “Fairy Godmother”.

-You know the fairy godmother? - Kairi got up from her seat when she heard about the fairy who had helped her in her journey in Traverse Town. Lulu on the other hand remained firm and serene, preserving that mysterious aura she possessed.

-Casually the fairy sent me an urgent letter, apparently the keyblade fell to someone special and...well, when the fairy godmother told me about you I couldn't avoid my curiosity to go out and meet you- 

-to...meet me?

-I noticed in you a thorn of doubt stuck in your heart, my dear.

-My heart?what you mean?-

-Every gardener knows that weeds can damage a beautiful garden, that's why they have the job of removing them, even if it is inevitable that they appear...” the woman spoke with metaphor what made the redhead much more confused, Lulu started to walk away towards the exit but she was waiting to see Kairi's reaction.

-Come with me, I'll teach you how to clean those thorns,” she said.

Lulu was clear, she wanted Kairi to follow her where she was supposed to go, and although her aura and attitude were gloomy deep down Kairi thought she could be someone trustworthy, maybe it was her naivety or because she didn't detect some dark malice inside her, in any case she and Pluto followed her out of the stands.

As she left the stadium Lulu stopped to look closely at the girl, the woman noticed a glowing light surrounding the young woman, something that is noticeable inside and outside of her, especially that she knew of the girl's true nature.

-Just as my teacher told me, you are special my dear- 

-thank you...? I guess-

-You don't have to be so polite honey-Lulu approached the young girl to caress her cheek, this made Kairi a little embarrassed by the woman's touch.

-I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but what do you really want from me? You came to find me at the request of a fairy godmother, but why?

The woman giggled at the memory of that name, but took a serious tone before the redhead.

-I see many things in you, at the same time that others are hidden, your heart asks for many questions but refuses to follow them, that's why I came to you.

H-H-Huh? - metaphors were not her forte, she didn't understand anything of what the woman was talking about, this made it funnier to Lulu just to see the girl's disbelief.

-I'll put it another way, you came here to look for them, didn't you?

-Even you know that? 

Lulu's doubt towards the girl was quite noticeable, and it was something that she really felt, although her objective was only to see if her friends were among the participants, she saw something else that Kairi herself was hiding.

-You don't have to answer now, you can take this time to think it over,” said the woman reassuring the young woman. - Still, it wouldn't hurt to give you a hand.

-Give me a hand?

The redhead was still confused and there Lulu approached her, once again taking her shoulder.

-What I see from you now is that you have learned new spells...” said the woman who seemed to see that Kairi now had other spells hidden in her, not only the Piro as a gift from the Fairy.

-Yes...though I haven't managed to do much...-she put her hand on the back of her neck thinking about it.

-Tell me, would you like to use them?

-Will you teach me?

-That's what I'm for, magic must be cultivated carefully and with me you can learn quickly to cast powerful spells, besides, a Keyblade wielder like you can't be so helpless if she doesn't learn the basics.

-Oh, that's right.

-So would you like to? - So Lulu affirmed while from her palm she invoked a swirl of air demonstrating her ability with magic, this was not bad for Kairi, she wanted to learn to use magic and she was more excited to know that she has a teacher, Lulu was willing and extended her hand for Kairi to take it, starting this special training.

This special training consisted of different lessons, thanks to Lulu's magic, she invoked a barrier so that no one would interrupt the phases, she stayed near the area where Kairi fought her while Pluto was left outside the barrier supporting her friend with her barking. The way it was organized was as follows; in the first part Kairi had to use her magic until she ran out learning the basic spells, now she had the power of ice which with her Keyblade invoked ice fragments that were expelled in the area and then by Lulu's gift she was given the power of thunder, which invokes rays from the sky that fell on her closest enemies, the whole journey of the first phase consisted of handling the three types of magic that she controlled which after a while left her exhausted.

At the end of the first round Kairi managed to rest the wear of magical power she had, Lulu there taught her some tips to take into account, the first is to be careful when exhausting her magic because this would leave her weakened, there Kairi remembered what happened to her in Wonderland, and the second is to have control over which spell to give more priority to use, all this the redhead took into account, then Lulu gave her to take an Ether Potion to relieve her magical power and continue to the next phase.

Her next training was the hardest, since it was about melee combat, Lulu summoned three stuffed Moguris from her possession which she transformed them into an exact replica of the Heartless that were going to attack the girl, the teacher taught her how to wield her weapon, when to attack, when to defend herself and all this her student heard and did, there were moments where she managed to hit them and others where she was hurt, blow after blow, scratch after scratch, leaving the poor girl more tired, thinking about not making it.

-Remember this! Your strength comes from beyond your heart! Trust it! - her teacher was telling her and that gave the young girl strength to keep on fighting.

The second round was hard but it was finally over, between gasps she fell to the ground trying to recompose herself, in her hand she had calluses from the continued use of the Keyblade, Lulu approached her to give her a Potion of healing, this recovered her from all her wounds, at the same time Lulu taught her a special magic of Healing, where when invoking it she creates a plant that sprays its power to immediately recover the vitality of a person. The barrier dissolved and let Pluto pass, who approached her friend to sit next to her, the dog felt that she was tired so he came to help her, after resting a little Lulu stayed a while sitting with the girl while she was still on the ground.

-You did great,” said Lulu, whose mysterious expression was still on her face.

-Thank you!

-The fight was tough and you were able to handle it, you had some basics to guide you.

-Well...it's quite true...- During their fight Kairi used what she saw in Sora's battles against Riku, even when they had friendly battles with Tidus, Wakka and Selphie, she kept observing those battles and her memory allowed her to replicate them in her training, especially with Sora, who was the one she saw the most fighting.

-Everything...was thanks to Sora...- she kept thinking about her friend and how he fought with everyone to prove he was the best, unconsciously Kairi started to laugh remembering some funny moments, like when Riku defeated him 13 times in one day and Sora kept grumbling about not being able to win. The girl looked happy, and the same could be seen on her face now.

-I see...” said the woman turning her gaze to the horizon, she saw how the girl was happy to remember and from the teacher also came a memory: ”You, on the other hand, remind me of my old apprentice.

-You trained someone else?

-Yes, she was a young girl just like you, she had an exceptional talent with magic, I raised her and trained all that I knew about magic.

-That's amazing,” said the girl with her eyes so wide with amazement.

-And what happened to her?

-As time flies by, you must let your cub take off to fly, like a Gullwing.-

The two phases of the training ended as they should have, now the girl was skilled enough in both magic and combat, she felt stronger and more rigorous.

-With this we finish the training.

-Not so fast my dear, we are not finished yet... 

-What,” said the young girl turning to the woman in black, ”but we already finished all the magic and the personal combat, is there anything else left?

-Yes, that's right- said Lulu looking serene before the young woman- you see, you gave your first steps with your training, but they are not enough, not until you prove that those steps work out of the field.

Lulu carefully approaches the girl, taking her shoulder again and extending her hand.

-I think you'll need this. 

With her magic and from the palm of her hand she summons a special object that will be of great help to Kairi.

-This...is a pass? - What appeared in front of her was a free pass, and not just any pass, it was the pass to participate in the preliminaries of the tournament, she looked at Lulu who smiled at the young girl.

-It's all yours, don't lose it, with that in your possession and the Satyr won't be able to refuse your entry into the tournament.

Kairi was more surprised by what Lulu did, she gave her the pass for her to enter the tournament, but why? she kept asking why she did this, even if you train her it was for a short period of time.

-I know what you think...and you don't need to say it, but let me tell you this, the answers you are looking for, are inside of your heart, what you must do is let her guide you,” said the woman pointing to the young woman's heart.

-my heart...as a guide?- Her heart guided her, at first Kairi wanted to enter the tournament to see if her friends were there and it was clear to her, but now she had another kind of feeling inside, something that does not stop her, and more when she was willing to continue, entering the place again to make this official.

-You have shown to be able to face danger, now you must show it, this time you have the power and I assure you that You can do it.

The redhead's face was of encouragement, of happiness, Lulu's words filled her with genuine motivation to move forward and in a way it was true, Kairi showed courage in the face of that danger, she showed attitude and determination and all these things make her what she is now, little by little she started to let loose to stop being just a Damsel.

Entering the rest room again, Kairi showed the special pass to Philoctetes for him to check it, he also showed a face of astonishment, because he didn't believe that a girl like her would win that exclusive pass.

-I still don't understand...how did you get this?

-Well...let's say that the pass came to me 'cause I deserve it- she laughed while Phil was still watching her, he didn't really understand why she would have that, and he couldn't deny it either because the pass was authentic.

-Girl, I'll say it again, even with this allowing you to enter I warn you that the tournament is quite dangerous! Let me give you 2 words: You don't stand a chance.

This was affirmed by the little man while Kairi counted five words instead of two, she kept insisting that she could do it and that now she had the skills, she even begged with sad puppy dog eyes (which Pluto also imitated), Phil was now cornered in front of the two who did not stop bothering him.

-Come on Mr. Satyr...give her a chance- from the shadows Lulu made her presence known again, Phil immediately noticed her.

-I knew there was something up the sleeves here!

-Why are you staring at me? I have nothing to do here- the woman tries to excuse herself by pretending not to have done so much.

-Well, these things are not to be given away! This competition is only for heroes and future heroes!

-And that's what I am!” Kairi spoke up, finally getting the strength to say it, ”I really want to prove that I'm capable of doing it! Give me a chance!

The girl kept insisting, until finally the Satyr accepted her a little resigned, but warned her for the last time what it would take to participate in the tournament and the risk she would run, there Lulu offered to be her Coach, taking responsibility in case something happens to her and Phil let it go, he climbed on one of the pedestals to get to one of the front boards and write Kairi's name.

-all right, now that you're officially in let me tell you the rules of this competition; Rule #1: you can't use special summons or advanced stuff, magic is allowed up to a certain point! Rule #2: if you take damage and get knocked out, you're out and Rule #3: if you get knocked out you can't fight anymore-is it clear what I said?

-Yes sir!

-Well, right now we are in the preliminary phase, if you want to be here so much make sure you are not one of the first to be taken out, did you hear that girl?

-Very Good! I will do great!

Chapter Text

The tournament progressed quickly, with many of the participants demonstrating their battle skills, although the vast majority were infiltrated Heartless doing their thing. Not many stood out in that battle except for our redhead, who kept advancing to each position with her magnificent abilities. Kairi showed great improvement in her combat and magic skills, She was the one who stood out the most in easily eliminating her opponents, something that Phil noticed about her.

The girl was having fun; she felt that she had missed out on something so exciting her whole life. She felt what her friends felt when they played battles. The Keyblade was her greatest advantage because it eliminated the Heartless faster, and thanks to the special training provided by Lulu, her magic increased to a power greater than she could have imagined. All the hard work paid off, and Kairi had already reached the top 5. She had to fight 4 more to reach the semifinals.

“You're pretty good, kid, I'll have to admit, said Phil, scratching his goatee.

-See, I can do it!

-Don't get too cocky, girl!

-Oh, come on! You have to say I did well to get here!- The girl continued to show off her skills, playing along with the Satyr. Pluto was also there, jumping around the two of them, wanting to join in the game.

“All right, if you're done, dear, you should wipe off some of your sweat.” Lulu joined in, bringing a towel for her student to wipe her face.

“Yes, sir! And with that order from the magician, the redhead took a towel and headed to a sink near the entrance of the coliseum to wipe her face, leaving Phil and Lulu alone.

“Wow, this girl is persistent.”

“And you say that, when you've also spoiled your hero?”

“Well... I'd say I'm like a ‘hero charmer,’” said the Satyr, fixing his hair and seductively approaching the dark magician hoof to hoof, for which he received a lightning bolt from the sky in return.

The break wouldn't last long for the next round, she had to get ready quickly, she washed her face and tidied up her short red hair a little, she took advantage of taking a hand mirror out of her pockets to comb her hair a little, she felt good in both aspects, although now that she had stayed there she began to think that she hadn't seen any of her friends there, of all those who participated, most were only Heartless, It seemed strange to her not to see other opponents, especially humans. She just thought that they would be in the finals. It was a little disconcerting not to have any other clues, but she didn't want to get discouraged. As she finished getting ready, Kairi saw a shadow in the distance. It wasn't the shadows of the Heartless, but that of a person. She saw someone peculiar in the distance, although she could only see their shadow projected on the wall, but something about it reminded her of that person.

“Could it be? ... It can't be!” Kairi left her place and quickly headed toward that shadow. The shape of it was so familiar to her, the most distinctive feature being that peculiar spiky hairstyle. She ran toward it without seeing what was in front of her and without hesitation embraced it.

-Sora! It's you! Sora, it's me! Kai_-

She ran towards him, wanting to give him a warm hug, but then she realized that the person in front of her was not who she thought it was. He was tough, a little broad, and above all, quite tall. The girl realized that the person she was hugging was not her friend with the wide shoes. On the contrary, she had come across a tall man in a cape and armor with spiky blond hair, looking at the redhead a little confused.

Kairi quickly moved away from the man, embarrassed to the ears with a red face. She had mistaken him for someone else and couldn't bear the shame.

“I'm so sorry!” she said, bowing apologetically to the blond man, who kept staring at her. She was still red-faced and bent over in embarrassment, so she didn't say a word.

This went on for a while until Kairi began to walk away, step by step, until she reached a corner, breathing heavily and with her hands over her cheeks, trying to think about what she had done. She wanted the earth to swallow her whole. It seemed too much to her to have mistaken her best friend Sora for a stranger who had the same hair as him.

On the other hand, the man just stood there until the redhead left. He didn't know how to react to this, so he just continued on his way while fixing his hair.

Deep within the shadows stood someone as gloomy as death, talking to himself about something that troubled him.

“Look at him... the hero of heroes, the son of the almighty lord of the heavens, the handsome one of all girls... A PAIN IN THE ASS! His shout was followed by an explosion of himself, igniting in fiery rage due to his bad temper. That being was Hades, the god of the underworld, who was in the coliseum for not-so-good reasons, and now he was not in his right mind because all his plans were going down the drain due to the annoying son of Zeus named Hercules.

“All right, I've calmed down, it's all over now, I just have to stick to this plan and the strongman will fall,” he said, running his hand through his hair, igniting his fiery mane once again and returning it to its usual blue color with flames. Hades was a guy who lost his temper very easily but also managed his anger control... sometimes...

“I see you in bad times...”

Things weren't going any better for the god. In his display of anger, the dark fairy with horns appeared, whom he recognized as the same one who had sent him to meet with everyone involved in the plan last time.

“Oh no, the welcoming committee again... What do you want? I'm busy with more important matters.”

“Really? All I see is you walking around setting everything on fire...”

-You say that as if you wanted to set yourself on fire- he said sarcastically to the fairy.- Look, I don't have time for your little games right now. I have a plan that I've been working on for 18 years, and I'm not going to let it fall apart, okay?

-I see... but now the situation has changed.-

“What do you mean?” said Hades, turning to look at the witch with his typical expression of disgust.

“I've seen that our dear princess is participating in these games.”

“Ah... yes... that... the little princess doesn't know how to stay still...” he said, still in his sarcastic tone, showing that he didn't care about the girl, but the witch had other plans for her.

“You know very well, Hades, that we need the seven hearts of the princesses of light, and with that girl up to her old tricks, we can't waste the opportunity to get her,” said the woman, walking around with her large staff and speaking in a somber voice to the god, who was skeptical of her words.

“I know that well, but I have better things to do. I have the perfect bait that can eliminate that meddlesome eclipse in no time.”

The woman stopped only to look at the god of the underworld. She already had something in mind to convince him, even if only halfway.

“Then we can fix this with that bait you mention.”

“What are you thinking? I can already see the trap here!”

“It's not a trap I have for you, but rather a new possibility.”

The conversation between the two drifted away as the room grew darker. The two villains had their separate motivations, but for once they would combine them for the common good.

The battles continued as normal, Kairi advanced more quickly in several positions and for some she was already their favorite to win, but there was another favorite candidate, someone named “Cloud,” who also dominated the leaderboards and showed skill in advancing significantly among his opponents. If things continued as they were, the two would soon clash and have to face each other in the final, where the last place and also the last test would be to face the hero of heroes, Hercules.

From the shadows of the coliseum, a dark and flaming figure kept talking to the man named Cloud.

“Hey kid, how's it going? Pretty good, huh? Okay!”

Hades made his presence known with a simple snap of fire. Cloud was unperturbed, to his surprise, and simply leaned against the wall to end this.

“What do you want? Did you come here to repeat the same thing?”

“You sure know your stuff, kid. I see you've made it to the semifinals, and well, I'm just here to remind you what you have to do, with one simple change.”

Cloud looked at the god, taking into account the last thing he mentioned with that change in plans. Hades, on the other hand, was relaxed with his act of being a good man, although Cloud knew his deceitful nature.

“Well, kid, here's the situation. You see that redhead over there?” Hades pointed to the girl celebrating her victory with her partner Pluto, her teacher, and the Satyr. Kairi was smiling as usual and bragging about her moves. Cloud saw her differently than when he first met her. He didn't know how to describe it, but he saw a bright light emanating from her, something as bright and dizzying as warm light. She seemed different to him, and he even felt a sense of familiarity.

“You saw her, right? Well, the thing is, that girl is who you'll be fighting in the semifinals, and well, among some things I have planned for myself and some other matters I've committed to, I need that girl with me. You know how it goes.”

“I'm not going to do it... This isn't part of the deal.” Hearing this, Cloud looked at Hades angrily and responded negatively to Hades' extra request. “Find someone else to do it. I only came here for what I came here for.”

He looked away, avoiding eye contact with the god, but that didn't calm him down.

“Hey, hey, I think you're forgetting one, no, two important details that, although small, are of vital importance. First... I OWN YOU!!!” shouted the god, transforming the color of his flames from blue to red and transmitting it throughout his body as if it were an explosion. Then he returned to his blue tone to continue speaking.

-And secondly, I'm not asking you to... eliminate her... I'm not that barbaric, just make her throw in the towel... you know... manipulate her into retiring.

Whatever the reason, Cloud didn't like this at all. His plan was simply to face Hercules, defeat him, and make Hades fulfill his deal. To do so, he agreed to use his darkness to fight, but he wasn't convinced about having to hurt others who weren't his target, much less a young woman he had just met and who seemed harmless.

“Look, kid, I don't have time to make another plan, so I'll be clear. You just have to incapacitate the girl. You don't need to hit her hard. It's optional if you want. Just take her out of the game, and that will solve everything. Then you can continue with Hercules, kick his ass, and end it all. Then you'll be 100% assured of your reward, and I assure you... it's the best you're going to get.”

Hades persuaded Cloud with that part of the deal, assuring him that what awaited him would be worth it. Cloud then asked if it was okay to just knock her out without hurting her, to which Hades replied that as long as he brought her to him when the battle was over, everything would return to normal. It was then that Cloud reluctantly accepted the new deal.

“Don't forget what the goat said, rule #11: it's just a game! You just have to have fun and that's it, simple, don't you think?”

The god continued to tease the man even with this dilemma, while at the end of the entrance hallway, neither of them noticed the presence of something watching them, something small and white, barely standing on its fabric and cotton legs. This handmade creature walked away to bring information to its benefactor.

Time flew by, the final rounds were approaching, and there were only two opponents left to fight before the final fighter, Phil, reminded everyone on stage that whoever won the semifinal would have the right to fight the Hero of Heroes, Hercules, and if they lasted a round or defeated him, they would win the cup as champions of the coliseum. The crowd was excited, waiting for the participants to fight.

Kairi was more than excited to do it. All of this was so new to her that it made her feel even more enthusiastic. She never believed she would achieve something as big as competing in a battle like this. She feels that all her skills have been worth learning, and in her excitement, she overlooked something important. While this was happening, Phil approached the girl to say a few words.

“Well, girl, as much as I still can't believe it, you've come a long way. I hope you're proud of yourself.”

“I am!”

“I can see that, young girl. In any case, remember, if you feel like you can't go on, you have to say so, don't feel pressured.”

“I'm not going to give up now! I can do this!”

“Well, it looks like you've caught the adrenaline bug, so whenever you're ready, let's get started!”

Phil was about to give the order for her to enter the arena when Lulu appeared. This time, the woman in black was carrying a stuffed animal that looked like a Moogle in her arms.

“One moment please, Phil, may I have a word with my student?”

“Sure... she's all yours,” he said as he left the two alone at the entrance to the arena.

“What's going on, Lulu?” Kairi asked about her intervention. Something told her that she hadn't come to congratulate her or anything like that. Lulu kept her eyes fixed on the redhead. With her only visible eye, she could see the scratches on her knees and elbows, the minor damage to her clothes, and the calluses on her hands from overuse of the Keyblade. It was all part of the fruit of her training and combat, all reflected in her current state.

“Tell me, Kairi, do you remember the two lessons I gave you at the beginning?”

“Lessons? Yes, ma'am! In the first one, you taught me how to use magic and handle it properly. In the second one, you taught me how to defend myself in hand-to-hand combat,” said the young woman, pointing with her fingers at each lesson she had taken from the sorceress. Lulu nodded with every word the redhead said and then continued.

“That's true, but there was one more lesson to learn, wasn't there?”

“Oh! That's right!” Kairi remembered the third lesson Lulu was going to teach her, but instead she received the entry pass for the tournament, and until that moment nothing else happened. “But... what was that third phase?”

“The third lesson... is the most important one and will define who you are.” Lulu became serious, her mysterious aura completely dominating the environment. It was vital that Kairi take the last lesson, because it would determine her result for the final.

“Tell me, Kairi... why do you fight?”

“...What?”

-Why and what are you fighting for? Are you doing it to find answers? Or... is there something else in your heart that keeps you going?

The third lesson made her really think. Why was she doing it? Why did she give in to her emotions? Was there something behind it? At first, she didn't feel the need to do it. She only joined because she was trying to find answers about the whereabouts of her friends, but now that she had come so far, that purpose had lost its weight... Why was she still fighting?

“I... I just...” The girl lowered her head, thinking of a simple or profound answer, something that would convince the woman of a genuine response, although it wasn't necessary to impress her, as her teacher had already predicted her answer.

“If you feel it's necessary, you can answer during your battle. Until then... only you will know the answer.”

A final farewell before the penultimate battle was given by this question, which would soon be answered, leaving the young woman restless in her search for the answer. She promised to do so even if she won or lost.

The stadium trumpets sounded, signaling the start of the semifinal round. The two competitors were already in position, and the difference between them was striking. On one side was a young man carrying a large bandaged sword on his back, capable of cutting through anything in its path. On the other side was the young woman carrying the key, who, despite her fragility, had managed to get quite far, making her way through the heartless crowd. Within the crowd, a favorite to win could already be heard; it was evident how good he was. On the other hand, Kairi had her “club” of supporters.

“Come on, girl! Just calm down and you'll do fine!”

Phil cheered the girl on from the main stands, and next to him, Pluto barked loudly, doing the same as Phil in cheering her on in his own way. Lulu was also there, accompanying the small group. Kairi raised her hand to greet them, appearing calmer, this time without hesitation.

A final sound of trumpets echoed through the stadium, signaling the start of the fight. Two humans faced each other, and only one would emerge victorious. Kairi extended her hand to summon her Keyblade, which lit up in her palm. Once she held it, she was ready with a battle pose. On the other side, Cloud did not move. just observing the whole scene and then turning his gaze to the young girl. A minute had already passed and the man hadn't moved from his spot. Kairi didn't move forward either. She didn't know how Cloud fought, so she wasn't going to take the risk of striking first.

After a while, Cloud finally took the initiative, but only to address her.

“Tell me... what was your name?” he said in a firm, sharp voice, addressing the girl. There was no time for introductions like that! Or was it perhaps a way to start before wielding his sword?

“K-Kairi...” she said, almost cutting herself off. The man lowered his gaze, thinking about what to say next, still not drawing his weapon, which seemed strange to the others, since in previous battles he had been quick and flawless in eliminating monsters. A moment passed since he left the young girl somewhat bewildered and confused, and Cloud spoke again, but now in a threatening tone.

“I'll put it this way... leave this fight.” He looked at her with a withering gaze that left her exorbitant, a strong pressure momentarily invading her. She didn't understand what he meant, but he wasn't finished.

“You have no business here. You're weak, and you know it. You're not good enough to be here. This isn't your battle, and it never was... and if you don't want to end up like this, I ask you to leave this stage.”

Cloud was cruel in his words, which hit her as if the blows had already begun. He kept giving her that furtive, threatening look, which worked, as the young woman froze, looking pale and unresponsive for a moment. He continued to say those words of despair, that she couldn't and would never be able to do it.

“What is this boy doing?” Phil was taken aback when he heard those words, and even more so when Kairi didn't move from her spot, slowly lowering the Keyblade in her hand. “Hey! Less talk and more fighting!”

Phil tried to take control of the situation, but Lulu stopped him. The man complained to her about why she wasn't doing anything to stop this or at least help calm Kairi down, but she only responded with this.

“Only she will know what she wants.”

Kairi's mind clouded over. Just by going through those discouragements, many things came to her, thoughts that shouldn't be there but are, stuck in her being. For once, she felt good about having learned to fight, about learning to wield a sword, but once those momentary memories came, other discouraging ones gnawed at her. What if it's true? What if I'm just weak? What if I really can't do it? What if I do it wrong? With her mind clouded, she could only focus on Cloud, still telling her how weak she was, followed by a strong pressure that drove him away. She saw him as more intimidating than when she first met him, much more... Her breathing quickened and her eyes widened. "Did you really think you could do it? Did you think you could be like them? This isn't your fight... it never has been... stop getting in the way and leave it to those who are better at this!"

For Cloud, there was no longer any need to draw his weapon, for he had already struck his blow, breaking her spirit and bringing her back to “reality.” In the stands, Phil tried to call Kairi so she wouldn't hear any more, and Pluto continued barking but now trying to reach her. Lulu was the only one who remained calm, sitting in her seat without moving, just watching her student about to give in, but she didn't believe in that.

“For your own good and for everyone else's, give up this fight...” was the last thing Cloud said. He felt dirty, so bad for letting himself do something so unpleasant. Breaking a fighter's spirit was the worst thing you could do, even if you didn't raise your weapon or fist first. All of this made him feel so bad, but if that was what his deal with Hades would lead to, then he had no choice but to resort to it.

Kairi was still trapped in her thoughts, in that feeling of not being able to do it, of not succeeding, of just being a hindrance, of just being someone decorative. She had already overcome all these feelings long ago, but the intensity was growing stronger, so much so that it was squeezing her like a rubber band about to snap.

Could I really do it?

Did I really believe... that I could do it alone?

...Can I really... measure up to him...?

...Riku...

...Sora...

...What should I do?...

...

......

<<Why and for what are you fighting?>>

A voice echoed in her head, it felt so familiar, a recent memory lighting up before her...

<<Are you doing this to find answers?>>

She tried to dig deep, into the depths of all those bad thoughts that were dragging her down... deeper...

<<Or is there something else in your heart that keeps you going?>>

A little more... a little more... a little more!

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar yet familiar place. Around her, there was nothing but a flat expanse of darkness, but what lay beneath her was different. At her feet was a stained-glass window with pink colors, forming a giant circle that showed several details recognizable to her, such as the shells of Thalassa that she had collected, and also... herself, lying on her back, sleeping peacefully without a care in the world, holding that amulet

...the amulet... Kairi remembered the amulet she had made and quickly took it out of her pocket. It was finished. The pink shells were joined together to form a star, with a silver crown in the center, and on one of the shells was drawn the face of that special someone... Kairi looked at it fondly...

-Sora...

Just by saying his name, a trail of light lit up on the floor, forming a small circle near the figure of Kairi in the stained glass window. From it, a figure emerged that finally took shape in... in Sora... smiling sideways, with that same expression of disbelief and playfulness, that expression she loved about him, and then... Several memories flashed before her, the same memories of Sora with whom she had shared many moments, all of them coming to her like a breeze that enveloped her, and one of those memories embraced her, revealing itself completely.

It was that afternoon when, after several rounds lost against Riku, he was being healed by Kairi.

“Agh! That hurts!”

“Stop whining! If I don't clean it properly, it could get infected!”

“At least you could be a little gentler!”

“Nope!” she laughed playfully. 

“Okay! Next time, you're on your own.”

They laughed as Kairi finished cleaning the wound and then bandaged Sora's arm with a bow-shaped bandage. They were both sitting in their usual tree, the Paopu tree that offered a beautiful view of the sea. For a moment, Kairi became pensive, something Sora noticed, calling her several times because she wasn't listening.

-Hey, Kairi!

-Huh?

-Are you lost or something?-

-N-No... it's just...-the girl brought her hands to her knees, searching for the right words to say...

-Hey, Sora...-

-Hmph?

-Tell me, seriously? Why do you do that?-

-Do what?

-You know, every chance you get, you go and fight Riku with swords, and he always beats you, and you end up a mess! - She said it in the most comical way, playing with him as usual, while Sora avoided the parts about being defeated by Riku. - And not only that, but when you see Tidus and Wakka, you do the same thing...

“Well... Tidus mostly brings it on himself, I mean, he's always behind me trying to taunt me!”

“You're right... but I couldn't help noticing that you always end up accepting it, so I wanted to ask you... why do you fight?”

The question left Sora even more surprised. He had never thought of a clear reason. He saw in his friend the concern she always carried whenever he ended up like this because of his battles.

“Well...” Sora put his hands under his head, a habit of his when he was more thoughtful than usual. “I do it because I want to be strong, to show others that I am capable.”

“But Sora, silly! You're already strong!” said the redhead, encouraging her friend with her usual smile.

“Hehe... maybe... but I think there's something about me that's changing too...”

“And what is that?” she asked, tilting her head. Sora put his hand on his chest, as if asking his heart, which he did.

“I... I'm doing this for myself... to prove to me that I can do it on my own too.” The memory brightens, leaving the last thing Kairi would see is Sora's smiling face.

When she regained her senses, she saw that she was still where she was, at Cloud's mercy in the coliseum. She didn't know how much time had passed since she had been in that strange place or that she was no longer on the islands. She returned to reality, but she no longer felt bad. Rather, she felt total relief. Everything that had happened to her disappeared like a refreshing breeze.

“Well?” Cloud interrupted her, still acting threateningly toward her. He hoped she would give up and end this once and for all. The audience also waited for a reaction from the young woman, who stood still for a moment without doing anything. Phil was about to consider ending the fight on the grounds that his opponent was unable to continue, but finally Kairi spoke.

“I... won't do it.”

Cloud's eyes widened in surprise at Kairi's response as he returned to his battle stance. Both Phil and Pluto were startled to see the young woman back to her old self again.

“You won't...?”

“No... I won't give up, not today and not ever... this time, I can do it.” Kairi placed her hand on her heart, right where her white necklace was, reflecting the answer she had sought in it.

“I'm doing this for myself.”

-....well...don't say I didn't warn you...-this disappointed Cloud, but he also feared that it would eventually happen. He had no choice but to sheathe his great sword and position himself for battle. He was now ready for something he didn't want to resort to.

Finally, the fight began with Kairi launching several fireballs right in front of the swordsman, who easily blocked several of them. However, when they hit his great sword, they dissolved into smoke, creating a temporary fog. Cloud noticed the distraction and quickly turned to block a direct attack from the girl with his Keyblade. He quickly backed away before Kairi could make several thrusts and slashes with her weapon, hoping that one would hit him. She was quick before Cloud could move his sword to strike her, and Kairi managed to land in a corner of the stage to recover a little.

The audience cheered the spectacle, and Phil played along, getting overly excited about the girl who was catching up to the star. Lulu felt partly proud, as this was a big step forward in her evolution.

“Well done, girl! Excellent!”

Most applauded, and everyone turned their attention to the key bearer, who was now more confident than ever that she would show what her heart wanted. Returning to his position, Cloud decided to take the lead. He lunged forward with a strong stomp on the ground, using his only dark wing to propel himself quickly toward the girl. Kairi immediately summoned a wall of ice to cushion the blow as she slid across the ground to change position, but Cloud had already predicted this and used the same wall to propel himself toward her and attack. Amidst the screams of the crowd, Phil asked her to dodge or use something while covering his eyes (Pluto also imitated Phil's movements). Kairi took both sides of the key with her hands to cover the impact as much as she could and was thrown to the other end. A few seconds less and she would have suffered a nasty cut. She tried to get up quickly, but Cloud already had her cornered.

-Thunder!-

Kairi raised her key to the sky, summoning several lightning bolts that surrounded her frantically. This caused Cloud to back away to avoid being struck by lightning. The crowd applauded louder, the excitement growing. It seemed that Cloud had underestimated her; she was more agile than he thought. and she, with her fist on her hip, was now showing him who was boss, although not for long.

Cloud raised his great sword, gathering all his energy into it, which lit up. Kairi took a defensive position, knowing that something bad would come of it and that she was safe. When the energy finished concentrating on the sword, Cloud rose to perform his strongest attack, " the Omni Whip," an attack so fast and lethal that it would hurt anyone who crossed its path. Kairi launched several ice projectiles, but they were easily destroyed. It was time to move or nothing. She launched herself with a somersault to the other end, She threw the lightning bolts from the sky again, but Cloud dodged them with impressive precision. Now close to the girl, he raised his sword to deliver the final blow. Kairi could only wield her key to block the attack, but she had a hard time. She was thrown to the other end of the stage and fell unconscious.

The entire audience was stunned, and silence filled the coliseum. Phil, now desperate and anxious, decided to go with Pluto to cancel the match or something bad would happen, but once again Lulu stopped him with her magic, now applying gravity on both of them. Meanwhile, at the back of the dark entrance, Hades waited for the perfect outcome of his plan.

“What are you doing, woman? Can't you see they're hurting your student!”

-I know... but she knows how to solve it-

It took her a while to get back up due to the impact. Kairi was already on the ground, barely gathering the strength to continue, but in front of her was Cloud, pointing his weapon at her, already wanting to end this. He had to deliver the final blow to take her out of the game. Cloud raised his large sword to strike her. And even though Kairi wanted to look away from what was coming, she decided she wouldn't. This time, just like Sora, she wouldn't run away and would face her battle. At no point did she take her gaze off Cloud, a serious, angry, but above all determined gaze.

Phil and Pluto covered their eyes so they wouldn't have to see what was about to happen. Lulu kept the same serious expression she had before, and Cloud, determined to end this, hesitated. Even with his sword raised, he saw his own reflection in Kairi's bright eyes, filled with light, reflecting a dark figure about to end his life... that was what finally stopped him. Cloud finally lowered his weapon, no longer having any reason to attack the girl, no longer having any reason for anything. Was this what he had become? Had he let the darkness take over him? It shouldn't be like this...

A slight tremor was felt on the stage, which gradually increased. The young girl quickly noticed it when she saw pieces of stone jumping on the floor, all without knowing that something was coming behind her. The only thing Kairi managed to see before Phil shouted for her were large, sharp teeth. As a reaction, she closed her eyes and covered herself as best she could. When she opened them again, she saw the same man who had previously intended to eliminate her...now protecting her from that giant mouth, which was actually a snout. When she looked back, Kairi finally noticed that it was attacking him. It was a giant beast resembling a dog but with three heads.

“Watch out, it's Cerberus!”

Phil's cry and the monster's appearance were enough to send everyone there running away.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you, sometimes accidents can happen...” said Hades before leaving the place, having orchestrated the arrival of Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld.

Cloud did his best, holding his sword tightly, blocking Cerberus's large jaws to prevent him from falling on Kairi, but the strength of the great animal was too much for him, and he couldn't hold out for long, until help finally arrived.

“Herc!” Phil shouted from the stands, calling to his star pupil, who finally managed to arrive to control the situation. The strong man took it upon himself to hold Cerberus' teeth with his bare hands. Both Kairi and Cloud couldn't believe what they were seeing.

“Phil! Get them out of here now!”

The satyr obeyed and quickly went to rescue them. Pluto grabbed the back of Kairi's clothes to drag her back so she could get up. Cloud, still in shock, was carried by Lulu, who extended a shield barrier around the group to keep them protected as they made their way to the main tournament hall.

Everyone arrived safely, or so it seemed. The other spectators completely evacuated the area, leaving only the four remaining.

Lulu was healing Kairi's bruises, Pluto was close by, still wagging his thin tail, Cloud was in a corner with his arms crossed, still silent, and Phil was by the entrance to the coliseum, looking worried, pacing back and forth, hooves clattering, because he was so distressed.

“Phil! Are you sure he'll be okay?” Kairi asked worriedly. She didn't know much about the man everyone called “Hercules,” but she wasn't reassured by the fact that he was facing that three-headed beast alone.

“You mean Hercules? Of course he'll be fine! He can handle that monster!”

As he asserted his position, a loud noise was heard from outside the stadium. Things weren't going very well, and Kairi knew it. Once she had finished healing with her healing magic, she got up and summoned her key to join the fight.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, girl?! It's very dangerous!”

“I know, but it's not fair to leave him alone!”

“He's not alone! He can defeat that creature,” reaffirmed the Satyr as another loud bang was heard from outside, making Kairi even more anxious.

“Come on, Phil, no matter how strong he seems, he needs the others too! And we can't leave him!”

Finally ignoring the satyr, the girl jumped over the rope fence and entered what remained of the coliseum's rubble. Pluto followed her with the same jump, and someone else joined them.

“Wait!”

“What? You...” Turning around, Kairi saw Cloud following her. He gave her a sympathetic look, remaining silent for a few moments, then shook his head and composed himself. 

“Let me help you. Two heads are better than three,” said the blond, and Kairi returned the gesture with a smile and accepted his offer to accompany her.

When they arrived, they saw Hercules in the distance, trapped in a corner of the stadium, holding up a large stone wall that was about to crush some civilians who were still inside the coliseum. He was protecting them from Cerberus' claws and teeth, and in this situation, he was in a difficult position because he had to defend the civilians while also fighting the hound. Hercules couldn't decide what to do, and he didn't have much time left. Just when he thought the monster would decide for him, he felt two fighters come out of the entrance. Cerberus turned his attention to them, and Hercules had the opportunity to escape his predicament. He threw the great wall out of reach and helped the civilians escape, climbing over Cerberus while Kairi and Cloud took up their fighting stances.

“Girl, I have only two words for you: Attack!”

The battle was tougher than it seemed, especially because of the hound's large size, but during the fight there was a bond and synchronization between the mysterious man and the young bearer, both as if they were reading each other's movements, coordinating and connecting attacks and spells to tire and defeat Cerberus. Of course, they also received extra help from Lulu, who, from the farthest platform, provided them with armor shields and some powerful spells to weaken the creature. It took a long time before Cerberus finally fell. Those present moved away before being crushed, and once again they saved the day.

“And as proof of your bravery and your proven achievements, I declare you ‘junior heroes’ and grant you the right to participate in the next games.”

Phil, standing on his stone platform, read the following statements, granting Kairi (and Cloud, who had left the scene some time ago) the title of apprentice heroes.

-So, we can consider ourselves heroes now, right?

-Not so fast, girl! For now, you are only apprentices; you still have a long way to go.

-Huh? Well, how far do we have to go?- said the young woman with a pout on her face, Pluto also making the same expression.

-What you lack is brains!-

-and...here we begin...- she rolled her eyes waiting for another sermon, but this time Hercules, who was also present, took the floor.

-What Phil wants to say is that to be a hero it is not only the muscles or the mind that matter, but what we carry inside, is something that only you yourself must discover.

Kairi understood what Hercules meant, they were the same ones that Lulu had also asked her, being a hero was similar to the question “why do you fight?” They were the same and in her her answer was the same.

“Because I want to prove to myself that I can, that I alone can also be my own hero, and I can also fight because I do it for myself.”

-what we carry in our hearts...isn't it?

-Yes, something like that could be- Hercules scratched his head a little, thinking that what she said was related to what he said- anyway, what you did was also a brave act, that's why I will also give you this.

Hercules gave Kairi two more certificates with the insignia of the gods, they were two “junior heroes” certificates.

-The mage Lulu told me what was going on with you, these certificates are for when you find your friends, give them to them as a gift.

Kairi took the certificates, she just remembered her friends and how they would be so happy to be in such a competitive place.

-Thank you so much for this.

-Don't worry, while I'm here, I'll try to look to see if your friends got here, until then and if you get to be the first to bring them here!

- I really hope to be at the next games!

-There will be no games for the moment girl, I have to clean the stage again- said Phil turning his head towards the entrance with a sign hanging “closed” for a good season no games will be played, then as they had nothing more to do Kairi said goodbye to Phil and Hercules to head to their next destination.

On her way out of the coliseum, in the entrance courtyard Kairi met Cloud, sitting there with his arms on his knees, he was pensive, absorbed in his deepest thoughts.

-Hey...? - Cloud raised his face to see Kairi's silhouette reflected by the daylight, she in an innocent tone asked if he was feeling well.

-I...I'm sorry I did all this to you.....

-Are you talking about...? Tell me why?

-.... I...I'm looking for someone...Hades told me he could help me...I tried to use the power of darkness...but it all went wrong...- her last words felt faded, as if her last hope would be extinguished, Kairi felt the same because she knew the feeling, again her thought of losing her friends invaded her, but she quickly snapped out of it.

-You know...I'm looking for someone too, and also...I feel fear in not finding them- said the girl taking a breath and then turned towards the sun- but...I know that they can take care of themselves...and that...soon we will be together again...I just have to have hope...and who knows? Maybe that day will come sooner than I thought!

Kairi returned a warm smile to the man, remembering that feeling of familiarity, helped him calm the delusions of his heart and made him feel again....

-thank you...

-you're welcome! -she said letting out a chuckle, while Cloud got up to leave the place, first of all he gave Kairi a keychain to keep it and hoping that one day she would use it, Kairi said goodbye raising her arm.

-You sure know how to make good friends.

-Lulu!" The red-haired girl almost got scared if it wasn't for the fact that she had become accustomed to Lulu's action. 

-So, you were able to answer that question, weren't you?

-Yes, I really don't know how to thank you for everything.

-You don't have to, praise is not my thing," said the woman adjusting her black hair.

-By the way, what's your next stop?

-I don't know ...  I really don't know. ....

-I suggest you go back to Traverse Town...there are many things you have to solve there....

-oh...I understand...and you Lulu where will you go?

-I'll be there when you need me, anywhere and whenever you call me" said the woman taking the redhead's shoulder. 

-One last thing, the light reflects in the darkness with more intensity, and the darkness is quite noticeable in a place with little light, in both it is easy to get lost but...as long as you manage both sides, harmony will be your only gift.

When the young girl and her companion boarded the ship and turned it on they stayed in the drift of space thinking about everything that had just happened, Kairi made great progress in finding a purpose to fight and at the same time she was thoughtful about what she saw during that time of trance...that space seemed quite familiar to her.... she didn't know what it was or why it took her there, and she would have taken the opportunity to ask Lulu about that place but she didn't think about it in time before saying goodbye to her, now she had to return to Traverse Town and she didn't know how to get back, the space was quite wide and easy to get lost, but then on the control a repetitive alarm sound was heard and when she approached she saw that an incoming message was displayed on the screen.

<<Is this on?ahem, this is Leon to control, if this is you the girl with the key, we managed to get a connection to your ship to communicate, we will send you the coordinates to return to Traverse Town, there is something we need to discuss, Leon out>>.

-I guess that's what she meant by things," she said looking sideways at Pluto who kept wagging his tail, she took control of the ship starting the return to the city.

Out of the corners of the beyond, in an inverted waterfall, there was already an exhausted young man, prostrate on the cold ground, it only took him a few minutes to finally wake up, his muscles ached and he was trembling for no reason, when his cloudy sight returned he noticed where he was, a place he had never been, desolate, lonely, no soul near him could accompany him, this made him feel quite bad, he barely took the strength to stand up and observe the panorama, he didn't even know where to go, and perhaps by reaction he started to scream, he tried to call someone, he tried to look for something, he launched his last screams waiting for an answer, but there was nothing... only loneliness. .only loneliness. That silver-haired young man did not notice the distant presence of a dark being who was glimpsed from such a spectacle of despair and thinking alone that he could not have a better idea than the one she would have had.

Chapter Text

In an unrecognizable void, someone was already floating toward the edge of the dark abyss that awaited them. No soul was waiting for them in that void that would soon embrace them. Darkness was imminent. Once again, it would welcome a poor soul abandoned by the light to its confines. But they did not believe that the light had abandoned them yet. A small ray of purity managed to reach that person to return them once again to the realm where they belonged. But the darkness was stronger than he thought, so much so that it stretched out its limbs to catch that someone and plunge them into the abyss. The only light trying to pull them back had no choice but to join them, bathing the void in the warm glow it emanated.

“A long time ago... you gave me a second chance... this time... I've come to return the favor.” 

The ship finally returned to the city from whence it came, and once again Kairi returned to Traverse Town, where the streets were just as brightly lit by the sea of lights that flooded them. Deep down, Kairi felt it was like a second home... or maybe a third.

As she entered the first district, she ran into the ninja Yuffie, who greeted her cheerfully.

“Look who I found here!” The ninja went to greet Kairi with a hug, which was reciprocated.

“Yuffie! It's been so long!”

“Wow, girl! You're really in trouble now! I can't believe you're more rebellious than me, hee hee,” said the ninja, laughing. Kairi also laughed, although a little more nervously.

“It's not what it looks like, hehe...”

“Don't be like that! The Fairy Godmother told us everything, so we're all good!” Yuffie tried to change the subject and leave it in the past and took Kairi to Cid's shop, but no sooner had she arrived at the accessory shop than Cid was already pointing a gun at her.

“You! Thief! You stole my ship! You're going to pay for this!”

-Cid!! Stop! Don't do that!!- Yuffie stopped him by throwing one of her shurikens at the gun, damaging it and causing smoke to come out of it.

-My gun!! Yuffie, this is the seventh time this month you've done this!!

“Can you calm down now, old man!?”

“What do you mean!?” That girl stole my precious! Do you know how long I've been working on that ship!?" The argument continued, Cid's face covered in smoke, and he went to complain to the ninja in front of Kairi, who didn't move a muscle when attacked by the old man.

“Kairi! If you want, you can go to where Leon and Aerith are! They're in the alley next to the hotel!” Yuffie stopped Cid from doing anything else crazy and told Kairi where to go while she dealt with the problem. Kairi agreed and left the store as if nothing had happened, leaving them alone to argue about the ship.

“It seems that Cid won't forget what I did... right, Pluto?”

The dog nodded, taking those words as a joke, and the girl laughed too. As Yuffie had indicated, the girl headed to District Two to enter the old alley. She noticed that the presence of the Heartless had diminished since the last time. One or two were still blocking the way, but they were now easier to eliminate and no longer a problem for her. She had fought many of them and had stopped fearing them. She had proven herself to be strong, all thanks to the Keyblade.

She entered the old alleyway, where the hotel was connected, the same place where she had been running away with Aerith and Yuffie before. It had been a while since all this happened, and she couldn't believe that her time was already up.

In the alley, there was a sewer with a visible entrance. The girl managed to enter through the water channels until she reached the bottom of a cave where the swordsman was training as usual, accompanied by Aerith.

“Mr. Leon! Miss Aerith!”

The man turned to look at the girl, doing nothing more than raising his hand to wave, unlike Aerith, who was happy to greet her properly.

“Kairi! Thank goodness you're okay. Oh, and hello to you too, Pluto.”

Both the girl and the dog were welcomed. Aerith was more open in receiving them, while Leon remained distant. Kairi didn't know if it was because of what had happened with the ship's escape or because he still had doubts about the key's decision.

During their time in the cave, they took the opportunity to resolve all their doubts and questions about the worlds.

“So... the key emitted a light in front of a lock?” Leon, still serious, addressed the girl as she recounted her experience in Wonderland.

“Yes... I don't know what happened, but the moment the key reacted, I heard a sound...”

“A sound? Like a lock closing?”

“Yes! As if something was closing!”

León and Aerith looked at each other, understanding what the girl was talking about after she took the trouble to explain.

"What happens is that this is the purpose of the Keyblade. The key you possess has a special power, which is to close the keyhole of the worlds.

“The Keyhole of the worlds?” said the redhead, tilting her head. Aerith continued with the explanation.

“Each world has its own heart, and in their hearts there is a keyhole. It is this lockout that prevents the darkness from taking over that world. The Heartless aim to find the keyhole so they can open it.”

“And what happens when they reach the keyhole?”

“The world ends up destroyed…”

“What?!”

“To explain it clearly, opening the keyhole releases all the darkness in the world, causing it to succumb until it disappears completely... That's what's happening now with the other worlds... even ours...” Aerith looked down sadly as she remembered, and Leon just sighed, remembering the old days.

-Your world...?- Kairi didn't want to be insensitive with her question, but the words came out of her mouth without meaning to. She tried to apologize, but Aerith didn't think it was a big deal. As for Leon, he was the one who told her.

-Radiant Garden... it was our home for a long time... but it was one of the first to fall into darkness... and we lost everything...

That place... “Radiant Garden...” was what Kairi thought. It seemed like she knew that name from somewhere, but she couldn't quite reach that memory. It made her uneasy not to remember anything. Once again, her blurry memories of her past didn't come to her.

“Are you okay?” Aerith noticed that Kairi was feeling down.

“Um! Yes! I'm fine, don't worry,” said the redhead, returning to reality. Aerith changed the subject to stop making her uncomfortable.

“So, Kairi... did you also arrive in another world?”

“Oh? Oh! Right! I was in a place called the Coliseum of Olympus...” Kairi tried to explain everything that had happened in that world, how she had participated in the tournament thanks to a sorceress who had found her, how she had had to endure the lectures of a grumpy satyr, how she had confronted and then allied herself with a man with spiky hair. At this last part, Aerith laughed. It seemed she recognized that man, but she said nothing so as not to interrupt further. 

-And then... when I felt sick from the pressure... I was in a place I didn't know.

-A place?- Leon asked- Where exactly?

“I don't know... it was just a dark space... but at my feet I found a glass window of... myself...” Kairi tried to describe as best she could that environment, that place where she saw her image of herself asleep with pink decorations and blank spaces, only one of which lit up and showed Sora's face.

“Do you... know what that means?” the young woman asked, but there was no clear answer on Leon and Aerith's faces; they didn't know the place Kairi was describing.

“That's strange. Has anything like that ever happened to you before?”

“Um... no, actually... is it something bad?”

“It would be best if you went to ask Merlin,” Leon interjected.

“Who?”

“Merlin, he's a wizard, just like the Fairy Godmother. He recently arrived in town on business. Maybe you should talk to him.” Aerith tried to explain who this Merlin was. The name sounded familiar to Kairi. Of course! He was the one the Fairy Godmother was going to write to, and if he was like the Fairy, then he would know about the place where she had stopped.

Leon told her where they could find him, and using the favor Cid had asked him to return a book that belonged to him, he told her to look for him in District 3 and maybe she would run into the Fairy Godmother.  Kairi liked the idea and set off for the place. She said goodbye to both of them, thanking them for their time, and woke up Pluto, who had fallen asleep, to continue with the request.

When they let her go, the two adults talked for a while, watching from afar as the young girl and the dog walked away and reentered the exit tunnel. 

“She's changed a lot since we last saw her, hasn't she, Leon?”

“Mmm...”

“Is something still bothering you?”

“...A moment ago, I was talking to the Fairy...about that light the girl was emitting...”

“Really? And what did she say?”

“That there was no doubt...she is also a princess...”

After finishing the conversation, the girl left the alley and headed toward the third district, unaware that she was being watched. The same presence that had argued with Leon long ago kept glancing sideways at the redhead. That person didn't seem convinced by what they were seeing and was now thinking of taking action, but a loud sound interrupted them. It came from the old bell. Someone or something was invading that place.

Finding the place where that wizard was located wasn't that difficult. Once she arrived in District 3, she immediately noticed an alleyway leading to a red door with a fire symbol on it. She used her magic to light a flame and direct it toward the door, causing it to open and allowing her to enter. She walked down a dark hallway until she found herself in a completely new place. It looked like a large lake with an abandoned house in the center. It took a little time as she moved across the shifting stones in the water, helping Pluto to also reach the center and find the place. It seemed quite gloomy and abandoned. Did anyone really live here? She wondered, because it seemed that no one had been here, there wasn't even a door to go through (the one in front was blocked). Kairi walked around the house until she found a passage in a hole and carefully entered.

Inside, there was nothing but dust and spider webs, an empty stone house. Only a large red velvet chair accompanied the emptiness of the house. Pluto entered with more enthusiasm, heading straight for the armchair. Kairi tried to stop him to prevent something bad from happening, but the dog ignored her, jumped on the sofa, and rolled around on the seat several times before lying down. Despite everything, he was still a dog and deserved this rest more than anything else. This comforted Kairi, and since she had nothing else to do and despite the place, she decided to stay and lie down for a while. She moved Pluto a little without waking him up to lie down on that chair and, stroking herself in the comfort of the velvet, she began to nod off. How long had it been since she had slept so peacefully? Of course, she did so on the ship, but it wasn't as comfortable as a bed, and this was the closest thing she could find. She closed her eyes slowly, feeling heavy and relaxed, until she finally fell asleep.

A buzzing sound woke her up. She hadn't been asleep for long when she began to hear things she couldn't make out. Still disoriented, she recognized where she was: she was still in that abandoned house. She glanced around and the only thing that had changed was that Pluto was sleeping peacefully on the sofa, although that didn't seem so bad. It reminded her of a certain place she used to spend time in, the secret place.

At that moment, Kairi didn't know if it was still because of her sleepiness or something else, but she was amazed to see that the empty stone walls began to change and transform into drawn stones. It was with the same chalk and the same scribbles she remembered. All those drawings reminded her of the same islands. and just when she thought she couldn't see anything more confusing, her gaze fell on a particular wall, where two faces were drawn, looking at each other... This drawing mesmerized her, as she couldn't quite remember one part of it, but when she tried to delve deeper into those memories, she was surprised by Pluto, who scared her with a bark. The dog was calling her because he sensed someone's arrival.

“Wow! I didn't expect any guests today!”

The girl turned quickly and stood guard, summoning her Keyblade, only to find an elderly bearded man in blue clothes welcoming them. The man was carrying only a travel bag and looked curiously at the girl.

“Oh! But it's the same young lady the Fairy told me about. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Merlin,” he said, removing his wizard's hat in a formal introduction.

“You're Merlin?”

“That's right. Could you give me a second?” Merlin put his suitcase on the floor and, with a few steps as if he were dancing, the suitcase opened and little by little objects began to fly out of it: furniture and chairs, cabinets and tables, books and cups. Many things came out of his suitcase, which seemed to have an infinite amount of space to hold them all. All of them danced to Merlin's rhythm, flying around the old room until a flashing light surrounded the entire place. After a few seconds, when his vision returned, he could see a colorful and bright room, with the same objects from the briefcase now in their orderly positions. This was the work of Merlin the Magician's magic.

"Much better, now... eh? Archimedes? Where is that old bird? The old man took his suitcase again, searching thoroughly (and literally getting inside it without any bottom) for this Archimedes. The young girl could only look sideways at the strangest moment she could imagine, when Merlin came out of the suitcase, turned it over to give it a few knocks as if something was stuck, and pushed as hard as he could until something came out of it.

Stop it! Stop hitting me! The speaker, even more surprising, was a brown bird, or rather an owl... Kairi didn't know exactly what it was, let alone whether it could talk.

So that's where you were, my good friend!

“Of course not! I was resting peacefully in my house when you put me in that cramped briefcase of yours!”

Merlin spent a moment scolding what appeared to be his friend or companion. After what had happened with the Cheshire Cat or the goat man, Kairi should have stopped questioning what was possible and what was impossible at this point...

“Ah! And I'm being totally rude to the ladies, Archimedes. This young lady is Kairi. I already told you about her a moment ago. She's the key wielder”

The owl turned his head toward the young woman, who was still standing there in confusion, and after greeting Mr. Owl, he flew up in front of her and looked at her sideways. The young girl held her breath as she stared at the talking owl.

“Ah, yes... I've heard about the one with the key,” he said without taking his eyes off her and still flapping his wings. After moving a little to follow her gaze, he noticed the presence of the dog accompanying her, still wagging its thin tail.

“Wait a minute! Isn't that His Majesty's pet?”

“Who?” the girl asked credulously. Merlin wiped his round glasses a little to clear his vision, and when he managed to focus, he saw the same thing as the owl.

“Of course it is! That's the king's pet.”

“That's what I said!” Archimedes crossed his feathers. “Why does this girl have the king's pet with her?”

“Wait! What is Pluto?”

“My girl! You've traveled through several worlds and you didn't even realize you had the royal pet?” Merlin teased her, not believing what the young girl was saying, but when he saw her nod, looking even more confused, he forgave her for the ignorant question she had asked, invited her to sit in one of the chairs he had just taken out of his suitcase, and served her some tea. while Archimedes flew to a small wooden house with a small mast hanging from it for the owl to land on, and Merlin took the large velvet seat where Kairi had previously fallen asleep.

This was the moment to clear up all the young girl's doubts about what was happening and what was to come, but not before explaining a little about his presence and that of the Fairy Godmother.

“Well, where do I start? Let me see...” Oh yes, as you can see, I am one of the magicians known to His Majesty. I was previously tasked with coming here to help the royal mage and the knight in their adventure.

“Who?”

“The royal mage and the knight. They are friends of the king and have always accompanied him for many years!”

“They did?”

“You silly old man, she knows nothing about royalty!”

“Oh, no? But she's a princess, like the others.”

“Who? Excuse me?”

“You're confusing her even more! If you keep this up, you'll confuse her so much that she won't even remember her name!” The owl kept ruffling its feathers, scolding the old man who was getting ahead of himself.

Archimedes decided to interrupt after scolding Merlin (and Merlin decided that it would be better for him to explain things to the girl if he wanted to do so so badly).

“Listen, young lady, Merlin was sent here by the king to help his other friends. He sent them a letter telling them to come here and find the key that you now have.”

“So they knew about the key.”

“Yes, and the dog you have with you is the royal pet. Only he can detect the king's essence.”

“So... his owner is that king they talk about?”

“Yes, he left him in his castle with the letter left by the king while he went elsewhere. Pluto is very loyal to his owner.” -said the wizard, taking another cup of tea and returning to the conversation after his scolding had passed. The young woman couldn't help but look at the dog, still wagging its tail but now sitting down. So it was true that it belonged to someone, but she didn't expect it to be someone so important.

“So... that king left him here?”

“No, no, no, Pluto came with the royal wizard and the squire! Their names were... they were... what were they?” Scratching his head with the cane in his hand, Merlin couldn't remember who he was talking about, so Archimedes spoke up.

“It was the grumpy duck and the dim-witted dog!”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes! I remember now! Their names are Donald and Goofy.” 

Kairi found those names funny, as well as the constant fights between Archimedes and Merlin. Merlin explained that the king had sent him to help Donald and Goofy on their journey to find the key, as they were the ones who should have known the location of the key, but they disappeared on their way to Traverse Town, and the only survivor of that journey was Pluto.

-From what I can see now, this dog managed to get out of that situation in time. It's a shame that the other two didn't make it out... I wonder where they ended up...

Meanwhile, in the farthest reaches of the universe, wandering through the dark, empty space, there was a damaged Gumi ship, out of fuel, floating aimlessly in the void.

“Gorsh!... those creatures' attack has damaged the laughter engine! Now we can't use it to travel,” said Goofy, tapping his finger on the fuel gauge, which showed no sign of working. Donald kept quacking meaningless words, as if he were cursing something or someone.

“It can't be! After all we went through to travel here, we had to find those things! I told you, Goofy, to turn right.”

“Oh, Donald, but if I had done that, that other dark creature would have hit us even harder,” said the biped carelessly, which annoyed the duck even more.

“Okay, okay! Let's all calm down for a moment,” said a small but firm Jiminy Cricket, trying to calm the situation. “We understand, we're all lost, but that doesn't mean we have to fight over what happened. We can solve this problem.”

“Jiminy's right, Donald! If we join forces, we can get the engine working again!” Goofy was good (albeit unintentionally) at calming the situation with his carefree attitude, and Donald had no choice but to start cleaning up the mess caused by the crash. Since they encountered those dark creatures, one of them sent them flying and spinning nonstop to who knows where, making the trip more turbulent than they expected. According to their coordinates, they shouldn't have encountered such danger on their way; they should only have had to worry about the Heartless ships, but it seemed that something had attracted these giant Heartless. He didn't understand why, but given what had happened, the situation in the other worlds was more worrying than they had thought.

Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy got to work fixing the ship as best they could. They didn't have the same ingenuity and creativity as Chip and Dale, and even their communication with them had been damaged, so for now they had to do everything their own way.

"Goofy, listen, that cable that's connected to the master control, don't turn it on!

"Oh? You mean that cable? - Without hearing the rest, Goofy turned on that cable, which caused an electric shock to Donald, who was holding the master control, and also to the ship's lights, damaging them in the process and leaving the ship in darkness... Donald, angry (and now burned by the electric shock), squawked louder, scolding poor Goofy... Yes, they really were very unlucky now.

Continuing at Merlin's house, Kairi took the opportunity to ask several questions.

“Do you know anything about that glass place I saw?” Kairi explained to the wizard where she had been transported during the coliseum semifinals, recounting every detail of where she was. Merlin listened attentively, stroking his beard with his fingers, and when she finished, he took a sip of tea and told her what he knew.

“Where you arrived is called the ‘station of awakening,’ dear.” 

“Station of what?”

“Basically, your heart.” Archimedes joined the conversation again, and Merlin sat up straight to be more detailed.

“Yes, as he said, it is the place where your heart is kept. Everyone has one, and not many can get there, unless you have a special connection to it.”

The wizard's words left her thoughtful. She brought her hands to her chest as she continued to listen. So where she arrived was her heart. She didn't think it looked like that, although in a way she felt it was warm and bright, just as she remembered it.

“When I got there... I saw an image of myself... there were decorated patterns and blank spaces, but before I knew it... the image of Sora appeared on one of the spaces. Is that something that causes it?”

Both companions looked at each other because of the question, and Merlin, being just as wise, told her the following.

“As far as I know, the station of awakening awaits what your heart most desires or what it already has and cherishes,” he said as he took another sip.

“What I desire most...” She just remembered that vision she had long ago when she remembered Sora in that space, it made her smile for a moment, the owl noticed it quickly when she turned red and took a cup to drink. She quickly asked him about the other blank spaces that remained, to which Merlin replied that there is something preventing her from showing her loved ones within the awakening. He asked her if she happened to have memory problems, but she did not respond, and Merlin respected her decision.

Then, she gathered the strength necessary to ask the most important question.

“Do you know anything about my friends Sora and Riku?”

“Are you talking about your friends from the island?” he said, combing his large white beard. “I'm afraid I don't know where they are, my dear.” It was to be expected... even though she wouldn't get an answer, she had nothing to lose by asking. "Your friends... must be on a plane where my abilities cannot see them.

"Or your magical sense has rusted!

“Yes, it's true... Ahem! No! I can still see better things in the future! Don't bother Archimedes!”

Although it was a comical moment for both of them, it wasn't enough to cheer Kairi up. She had already been to three worlds and in none of them had she managed to get even a list of her friends. She feared the worst. She didn't want to think that they would be lost forever, and she thought a lot about how the Heartless had acted...

“I'm sure they'll be fine... they must be! After all, they're them!”

She thought constantly, but that thorn was still stuck in her heart. Even so, she tried with all her might to stay positive, clenching her fists on her legs and closing her eyes tightly to stop thinking about negative things. She took a sip of tea and then moved on to her next question.

“Now, there are a few more things I wanted to know... The first is how I got this.” Kairi summoned the Keyblade to show it to the wizard. She assumed he would have some knowledge about it if he also knew the Fairy Godmother. She waited for him to examine it closely. Archimedes also looked at it from his little house; he couldn't help but stare at such a strange object.

“Hmm, indeed, this is a keyblade!” he replied, adjusting his glasses again. “However, I see something that doesn't quite fit.”

The young girl opened her eyes in surprise. Was there something wrong? She wondered. She let Merlin hold it for a moment, and just like last time when Leon took it, it returned to Kairi's hands. That was enough to prove the wizard's hypothesis.

“Just as I thought... it's attached, but not as I expected...”

“What do you mean?”

"Look, my child, from what I have learned in my years as a sorcerer, the keyblade does not always choose its master. It must be inherited by a special method. However, there is a special case in which, when darkness has more control over the worlds, the key will manifest itself to the being with the most light in their heart... The thing is... the key did not choose you, dear. you are safekeeping it for the true guardian..."

Chapter Text

“Are you saying that... the keyblade... isn't actually mine?” Distressed and confused, the girl replied with the same question that she didn't like so much... so... she never deserved it?

“You old fool! Look what you've done!” Archimedes scolded the old wizard for continuing to torment the young girl as he had done before. “It doesn't make sense anyway! A moment ago, you took it and it disappeared from your hands and fell into hers! Doesn't that make her worthy?”

“Of course she's worthy! Very much so! That's why the key chose her as a replacement!”

“Replacement?! Hey, seriously! What's going on?!” This wasn't helping at all... it was too much information to process, and Merlin wasn't helping to lighten the mood. Just when everyone thought things were about to get more complicated, a small shower of stars began to fall from the room. “Oh, good! Just in time, and the cookies are ready too!” The bearded wizard took another one from the empty chairs and placed it in front of the tea table, seeing that he was expecting the early arrival of another guest. Both the girl and the owl and the dog were surprised by the arrival of none other than the Fairy Godmother.

“It's nice to see you again.”

“Fairy!” Kairi rose from her seat, surprised by the woman's arrival.

“I'm so glad to see you again, Kairi. How have you been, dear?”

“Um, well... I'm fine!” she said with a sincere smile. The fairy approached to join in the conversation about the doubts they all had.

“You're just in time, madam! I was telling her that the key isn't hers.”

“You're confusing her with more nonsense!”

“Enough, Archimedes! Do you want me to turn you into a human?!” 

-No! - said the owl flying directly to his house to hide, Merlin whispered close to Kairi that Archimedes would prefer to become anything but human, this made her laugh a little.

-You don't have to bother Archimedes, that's what I came here for, to help Merlin- said the Fairy with a gentle and kind voice and then she turned to her little girl.

-You see my child, there is a special feature with the Keyblade that no one knows and it is a very special one.

-I understand...

-well, that characteristic is that of a list, as it is known the key has its own conscience and it is the one that chooses its wielder and there is no one who deserves that power than the one who chooses the key.

-I understand... but why did Merlin say that I was a replacement?

-Relax my child, I'm coming,“ she said reassuring the young girl who was more anxious to know the reason, ”you see, if something happens to the wielder before the key will manifest with him, it will pass to the next in the list, and the key evaluates that by looking for the being with enough light in their heart.

-light in his heart...you mean...by being on the light side... can receive a keyblade?

-it is not always like that, but for this occasion it is, if the key detects a greater darkness in its main chosen one, it will look for another one as a replacement.

-another...as a replacement...ah!- suddenly a memory came to her so fast, it was the memory of that night...when she was in the usual place, she was in front of that door that would never open...alone and disoriented, then she saw her friend, just tired of running and worried about her, a shiny object was holding that young boy...that...that thing he had...and then...of course!

-it seems to me that you remembered something, didn't you? -the fairy took the girl's hand returning her back to them and asking her gently what she saw, Kairi was more anxious, with an agitated breathing because of the sudden memory, it took a while for her to calm down and then she decided to tell it

-I ... .had already seen the key...Sora had it when I was in the cave of our secret place...and then...he disappeared and-and...I took the key that had fallen to the ground...and then I don't remember anything.....

-I see...so your friend was the one who was the original chosen one.- Merlin took some time to think about what the young girl had told him, wondering more things but in silence, Kairi lowered her gaze, as if what she would tell was something bad, in part she felt a guilt, because originally the Keyblade belonged to Sora, he was the worthy wielder who would save everyone, he was that chosen one they were looking for, he was everything...but now the situation was different, she felt she had robbed him of that right.

-Do you...do you think...this was supposed to happen... you think I'm still worthy?- she slowly raised her eyes shyly, looking with guilty eyes towards the two wizards and the Fairy Godmother calmed her again with her sweet nature

-My girl, you shouldn't feel bad for that, just... sometimes things don't turn out as they wanted..." she touched the girl's shoulder tapping it softly, of course she was still hesitating, the thought of him disappearing because of her, scared her, and even worse she doesn't know which way to turn, she shook her head still denying those facts and tried to see the positive side of it.

-What I can say clearly,“ Merlin took the floor, ”is that what happened to your friend was more of a sabotage, the darkness must have gotten ahead of the Keyblade's plans, it didn't want him to have it and took him away, so the Keyblade went down to its next successor on its list...and found you as the brightest light.

-Even so...the Keyblade wasn't fair to the girl! It didn't take into account about her condition! -Archimedes interrupted, coming out of his hiding place and returning to the group to speak, this made Kairi remember the comment Merlin had said a few moments ago.

-It's true! Do you even know anything about me? You called me princess! -the girl asked even more anxiously, the Fairy looked sideways at Merlin, knowing that what he said came out because again he had no control over his future vision, and since there was no other choice he had to finally let it out.

-About that...we had suspicions but with what you have shown it is time you knew once and for all...you my dear...are one of the seven princesses....

-seven...what?! - Kairi got up from her seat totally surprised, throwing some cups that were recovered by Merlin's magic, she stood looking at both wizards, the old man decided not to say anything else if he didn't want to continue spoiling the order with his verbiage, so the task had to be continued by the Fairy Godmother.

-Yes my child, the seven princesses of heart, are pure maidens of light, where darkness is not able to reach them, long ago I met one and I was her fairy to fulfill her dream and when I saw you in that alley I had no doubt that you also possessed a heart as pure as that princess.

Kairi couldn't believe it...she...a princess of the heart? Where did all this come from? Had she always been one? She really didn't understand anything...

-So...I come from royalty? - she wondered if this was part of that past she couldn't remember, to which the fairy told her not necessarily, she told her that there were princesses who didn't need to be by royalty, that there were maidens who could possess a pure heart and that was enough to make them princesses of pure light.

-I can't believe it! The wielder of the key is a princess of the heart!" Archimedes brought his wings over his head with an attitude of not believing what he was hearing, not even the girl but now he understood one thing and that was what Lulu had told her.

-In the coliseum... she told me that I was special....

-You're talking about Lulu, aren't you," asked the Fairy more animated.

-Oh right! You know her, don't you?

-Of course I do, she was my student a long time ago! When she grew up she dedicated herself to learning dark magic.

-And she became good at it! I've never known a wizard to learn two magics like that since Yen sid.

-Yes, that's true, the thing is that Lulu decided to isolate herself from the worlds and have no contact with anyone, until I called her and told her about your situation.

-and by situation, do you mean?

-Yes, to teach you to defend yourself dear, I didn't want you to be totally unprotected out there, so I sent my student to teach you everything she knows, and I see that it helped a lot.

“So that's why she was waiting for me in the coliseum” thought the redhead, thus understanding why she had trained her, she knew she was a princess of light and helped her in everything to defend herself with her Keyblade, it didn't surprise them that Lulu was so patient with her but now she understood better why, on that side it calmed her that the Fairy godmother was still taking care of her even being far away.

-However it is not common that a princess became the wielder of the Keyblade, this is something not to be believed.

-Princesses can't be wielder?

-In many cases no, however given your situation and also the way things are out there, this exception was made.

The situation out there...she didn't know what was really going on with the Heartless, just what Leon and Aerith mentioned to her about the locks was the only thing she processed, the girl talked about it to the mages and they went back to a serious attitude and explained.

-I'm afraid that what they mentioned to you is true, the darkness has emerged and is devouring each one of those worlds... 

-And why are they doing it now? Why do they want to destroy those worlds?

-We do not know for sure, however given the nature of the Heartless, they cannot coordinate an army, it seems that someone is controlling them.

-And that's why the wielder must act..." finished the Fairy, observing the young girl still nervous with what they are telling her, she continued now in a personal way.

-Kairi dear, out there the disaster is imminent, I didn't want to pressure you in this since you have your goals and I have respected this, but this time things are different...-while the Fairy was talking the young girl raised her eyes again to only see the woman in front of her, she still felt that familiar feeling in her, that sensation of knowing her somewhere but something in her heart told her that she was not the same person, even so she felt it.

-my child, you have a duty and a decision to make, only you can face the darkness in these dark times.

The fairy was being clear, she was asking her to face this new danger, to save the worlds from the darkness and to bring peace again, Kairi was completely overwhelmed by this, it was too much for her, the fact that now she has to go on like this, now depending not only on her but also on the beings that live in the other worlds, She has already seen what the Heartless do, they know what they are capable of and what they can do if this continued, yet she was terrified to take on such a big responsibility, she was perplexed for a while trying to think very well what she would say, however her words were not pronounced. The fairy noticed this and with that warm smile of hers calmed her down again.

-Take your time, I know it is not easy to decide now," said the woman and she asked Merlin to give her another cup of tea, the magician accepted and with his magic still active he made one of his sugared teapots approach the young girl with a cup ready, he also began to take several spoonfuls of sugar out of it, which made the magician get upset with the sugar bowl. Kairi was amused by that moment and smiled again as usual.

-Feeling better my dear?

-Yes, thank you again Fairy.

-You're welcome honey, your heart has been strong, have you always been like that honey?

-Yes...well, when I'm in a bad mood...I always try to think of positive things before the end of the day, and it's been hard to do that now, but now I've been feeling a lot better.

Her sincerity came to light, clearly she was still scared but going on like this would not help her at all, she had to make a decision at once but the Fairy told her that she would take this time to think about it, it was not necessary to go ahead and regret what she had said.

A while passed in which they were still conversing, talking about their experiences calmly and about the craziest moments she has spent during that time she was outside, she felt free talking about all that and excited too, she tried to avoid the bad moments but sometimes they just came out and she apologized, both adults listened to her with attention and enjoyed this quiet moment, everyone talking and Archimedes still bothering Merlin.

-Look what time it is! We're past nap time! -mentioned the wizard Merlin, pulling out a pocket watch from his tunic.

-I guess you and Pluto don't have anywhere to stay, do you?

-Emm well...-the girl scratched her cheek shyly with that question, it was true that they had nowhere to sleep.

-I think I know that Leon and company fixed up one of the old houses in town and made it their backup home, why don't you stay there?

-but I don't want to cause any more trouble

-Don't worry honey, if you say you are coming from me then they will accept, besides you already made friends with Aerith and Yuffie, they will be happier to have you.

And with this the meeting would end to let Kairi rest for a while, the young girl got up from her seat and in reverence thanked the hospitality offered by the magicians, she woke up her friend on the way to the one who the whole meeting fell asleep to be able to keep going, but not before receiving a piece of advice.

-Hey girl, yes you, just a second," Archimedes the owl flew to the young girl's shoulder to dedicate something to her.

-One thing that may help you soon, and listen, if you know that animals have the ability to recognize smells, don't you? Why don't you take the trouble and test your friend? Maybe this will help you with something.

-emm I understand ...thank you Mr. Archimedes.

-Mr. Archimedes? I like this girl more! 

-If you like her so much why don't you go with her, maybe a little exercise will help you to lower your belly? -jum!

-jum! - the owl flew back to his little home, leaving the place.

Finally leaving Merlin's home gave them a moment of peace and processing of all that has happened. Only the Keyblade is capable of restoring those worlds by the locks and she is the only one who can do this task, even if it never belonged to her, it was something...strange...the responsibility was always hers or not? She kept asking.

Once she saw the starry sky again she stared at it, it was impossible to believe that the stars were worlds and that they were disappearing little by little because of the darkness, she was terrified of the idea...a star can die? It was unreal to think about it, it was something that not even in many of the children's stories she had read or heard would be told about something like that.

“ Can I really...will I be able to do it?”

“All those people...all of them...”

She was still lost, but she felt something wet in her palm, Pluto was approaching with his muzzle to get her attention, it seemed that he was claiming some caress but in reality he was trying to tell her in his own way “everything will be fine” That reassured her, she passed her hand over the head of the path scratching his forehead with affection.

-you know how to cheer people up- she said as the dog answered her, she still couldn't believe that he was the king's royal pet, he must be someone important to get here, he was also separated from his master, and he found someone he could trust, may this be a work of fate.

While she was still stroking Pluto's head something in her mind went over, to the words Archimedes said a moment ago and then she remembered something else, it is true that she knew very little about dogs, but there was one thing she did know.

-if I remember correctly...dogs can detect smells...?

She remembered it clearly, it was something that dogs had special, they can differentiate smells and track them, and although she didn't know what their ability was she wouldn't waste her time in doing it, because her idea was to see if Pluto could track Sora or Riku. First she needed something that belonged to them, she started to look in her pockets but more than something that belonged to her friends, she only had her own things, like Thalassa's amulet, and she couldn't go looking for one with the islands vanished, she would almost lose hope until she remembered that moment.

She summoned her Keyblade and looked at it for a moment remembering again the night of that day, she concentrated on bringing back that memory, of when Sora found her in front of the door in the secret place, he was clearly holding the Keyblade, he had it in his power, even if it was momentary, he had it with him, so Kairi thought of using the Keyblade touched by Sora to detect it, why hadn't she thought of it before? But with so many things crossed it was difficult

-Pluto can you try to track Sora with this? she brought the handle of the sword close to the dog's snout, it was her last chance and she had no more to lose, Pluto concentrated on smelling the handle deeply, maybe it would be complicated because of the use Kairi already had for it when she took it with her, but Pluto managed to have something, he lifted his thin tail up and his ears were firmly raised, he didn't know what that meant but something was sure, he has something.

Pluto barked, sniffing the sky and the surroundings, Kairi got excited asking her to go after him, although she didn't think Pluto would be so quick to detect it, in more, it seemed he already found it! He ran out to look for that smell and Kairi had to go after him, her heart accelerated and not only because of the trot of chasing the dog, but also because she thought she finally had something, it was sure that Sora was near, and wherever Sora goes Riku will also follow him, and vice versa.

She ran after him everywhere, it didn't seem to end, she was running around every corner and every district, Pluto didn't stop sniffing every place in Traverse town, he was anxious running from side to side, Kairi was already at her limit of chasing him, neither the Heartless or Lulu's training made her more tired than chasing a dog “I can see why my parents didn't let me have a pet” she thought while she took more air.

Going back to where they started in district three, Pluto reached his target, the smell led him to someone who was in the middle of the square, by instinct Pluto ran with all his strength to go after him...and jumping on top of him.

What the heck? Ah!

The sound of a thump was what Kairi heard as she went back inside, she hardly had the breath to stay on her feet, but the sight that awaited her was a hilarious but also surprising one.

Pluto was on top of that person, licking his face, expressing emotion while that mysterious person was trying to get him off

-Ah! Let go of me, you dog! Don't do that! Stop licking me!

This would seem funny if it wasn't because Kairi recognized his voice...she would never forget it because of his tone, someone serene and brusque, but also mature and reassuring, she slowly approached the person and ended up recognizing more things about him, like those blue shoes, those baggy pants, those black gloves up to the wrist, and that hair...it had to be....

-Riku?

The boy lifted his gaze, still on the dog and moved slightly to the side to see who had called him, who happened to be his dear friend.

-K-kairi!" shouted the boy, at the same time he received a lick in the face from Pluto- AGH NO! You hit me in the mouth! Buah!

The boy tried to wipe his mouth due to the dog's saliva and didn't notice another weight on top that left him speechless, Kairi went to hug him tight, still on the ground because of Pluto's incident she hugged him shaking with emotion, some tears were falling on her cheeks and she kept repeating “It's you Riku!”

Riku was speechless, perplexed and without reacting, he didn't expect her to come to him and he didn't know how to react to her, he felt how Kairi squeezed his body tighter, trying not to separate from him for anything, he was relieved to see her, she was fine and that made him calm down more, he reciprocated the hug returning her one too, without separating from her, still in silence of knowing that she was safe.

-I'm not dreaming this time, it's really you!

-and who else did you think it was? you didn't think it was a ghost or did you? - the boy joked, lightening the moment for her to calm down, Kairi detached herself from Riku and gave him a look at her face.

-Hehe...something like that! - smiled the girl gently, scratching her head a little as usual, with her eyes a little watery from the tears she tried to wipe them away, she didn't want Riku to see her like that but it was a little late to do so, the young gray hair helped her to get up, which also relieved him from being on the floor with a dog he had never seen before that kept licking his face.

-Let me go! Where did this dog come from?

-Pluto! Leave Riku alone! 

-Is it... yours?

-well...it's a long story...hehehe

Kairi asked Pluto to leave Riku alone and he obeyed her but taking a different path, she thought she had offended him or something but seeing how the dog was still wagging his tail and withdrawing let her know that Pluto would be fine.

Now both friends were together, her heart calmed down again, warmer she was that she did not stop laughing and at the same time Riku gave her back an equal but more sarcastic one as he usually does, the joy was short-lived until she remembered again

-Oh it's true! Is Sora with you?

-What? he wasn't with you? - her smile disappeared when the girl asked about her friend, with a tone of genuine concern, Kairi lowered her gaze and shook her head and answered.

-No..." once again sadness invaded her, she thought that Sora would be with Riku, knowing that he would never be separated from his friend, but now she saw that it was not true, unconsciously she put her hands to her chest, maybe trying to comfort herself, Riku was silent for a moment, he also seemed surprised to discover that Sora was not with Kairi, knowing him well he thought that he would be with her, but it was not like that.

Kairi told him her version of the events, she told him how she arrived at the island of games until the secret place and how Sora found her, she omitted some things like the key he had or the voice he heard before Sora arrived, the only thing she mentioned about those events was the blizzard that blew her away and that in that instant Sora's body disappeared, it didn't do her good to remember that but it was the only thing she had because that was the last time she saw him. About Riku he didn't mention much either, or rather he hadn't told him, because he had also seen Sora that night, in front of him in the place where they always rested, he had mentioned to him about the door and that they could finally go out to the outside world, then he remembered how he extended his hand to Sora to take him, but the rest of his memories were clouded and then nothing...

-Don't worry- Riku grabbed Kairi's shoulder, reassuring her friend after hearing her version- he must be out there, you know how he is, he's lazing around, maybe he's taking a nap right now as usual?

-Yeah... I guess, he never changes.

Kairi made a grimace, forgetting again the bad memories and going back to being the same lively girl, that made Riku happy although that didn't take away that thorn in his heart, he decided to change the subject and looked up, towards the same starry sky.

-Look at this...we finally did it Kairi...now we are outside.

-Hehe...you're right, after all it's your dream," said the girl with both hands behind her back, looking at the sky with her friend.

-It's also yours,“ corrected the gray-haired boy, ”our dream...of the three of us.

Riku's eyes were bathed by the small stars that were reflected in it, he never thought he would see a sky different from that of the islands. It was true that Riku's dream was to see what was beyond his small home and he finally fulfilled it, he felt satisfied, his dream of many years, a dream that spread to his friends who also wanted to see beyond, and although only one of them was missing, it did not stop him from enjoying the moment.

It wasn't until he was interrupted by a Heartless, which was sliding along the ground until it came out of its hiding place to attack Riku from behind, he didn't know what was happening until he heard his friend.

-Riku, watch out!

The young red-haired girl pushed him to the side and with a sideways movement she invoked her key to hit the Heartless and make it disappear, Riku was stunned by the scene, he saw how his friend made a perfect side cut that made the creature vanish and saw her back all firm and sure of what she had just done.

-Hehehe! I guess now I know how to take care of myself" she said jokingly carrying her Keyblade behind her like all playful, the young man didn't formulate any word, he was still surprised by what happened and then he asked her what she just did or rather, what she had in her hand.

-Oh this? It's called Keyblade!

-Keyblade huh? and where did you get it?

-well...it's another long story...-she said trying to organize and omit some details- let's say , it looked for me and well, a girl should know how to defend herself, right? Hiya!

She spent that moment playing with the key making fencing movements, trying to impress him, Riku's eyes didn't take off from that weapon, something was bothering him but he didn't want to be so hard.

-Can I see it? - he said and Kairi seeing the interest that the boy had for his weapon offered it to him, he extended his hand to take it and then raise it properly, Riku already had knowledge of how to wield a sword (even if they were only toy swords) and carefully observed every detail of that key.

-It's a little heavy for you, isn't it?

-A little bit, but I got used to it, the training I had helped me to use it well," she answered as animated as she used to do while Riku gave her back her Keyblade.

-Wait! Did you...? - perplexed, he opened both eyes and looked worriedly at his friend -did you go out to other worlds?!

-emm...yes! I used a ship to do it.

-How did you do it yourself?

-I-I well...hey why are you asking me this? - Kairi was worried about the questions Riku was asking, seeing how he got tense, he then saw how her friend felt nervous and then he ran his hand over his head, trying to calm himself down and then he calmly explained the following to her.

-Listen... I don't know if you know about those creatures...

-creatures?

-the “Heartless ones”?

-oh! yes, I have faced them in the worlds!

-...I see..." he said softening his voice, something in him worried him, but then he returned to her with a serious attitude.

-I guess I won't dwell on those details....

-What are you talking about?" said the girl now worried about her friend.

-Kairi...you know that those creatures...the Heartless, were the ones that destroyed the islands....

-Yes... someone from the city told me...

-Then do you also know what happens to the people who used to live there?

-They end up in Traverse Town! That's how I got here.

-but not everyone does...-he said trying not to break his voice, Riku was more serious and mature with her- some may end up in worlds that may be hostile...like with me.....

-Riku...

-and others...end up disappearing completely- now she understood why Riku took that attitude, wherever the term was he was terrified of the fact that none of his friends were well, it scared him to think that they were consumed by darkness and never to see them again, Kairi understood it, because it was also something that was going through her head, she didn't know well what happened with Riku in those moments while she was in Traverse Town, but she thought that he didn't take her easy there.

-you...you were thinking about that too - it seemed like Kairi read his mind and Riku settled his throat to be firm.

-Listen! The point is that these Heartless are behind everything! It took me a long time to get out of the world I was in to get here and I thought I would never see them again, but when I saw you I was calmer.

Riku was someone who cared a lot about his friendship for everything else, he was someone loyal to his ideals, for him it was heartbreaking to think that he was alone, but he had his ray of hope when he saw his friend safe and he didn't want to lose her again.

-Kairi, I know this is going to sound harsh, but I want you to stay and shelter here.

-What are you talking about, Riku?" Kairi asked incredulously at what her friend was asking.

-Just listen to me, the worlds out there are overrun by the Heartless! They will do whatever they can to get one, even if it means hurting innocents...

-I know that, but... the key is the only one that can handle it! And with it I can close the keyholes of the worlds!

-And what if you don't? what if you lose that key? what if you get hurt? I don't want anything to happen to you! Understand, Kairi," he replied sharply, startling her friend, her eyes still glazed over.

-Riku...I...it's_- the girl saw how his friend was about to collapse, but when he noticed what he just said he apologized and then approached her in a shy way taking both hands of the young girl who was still holding the key.

-I understand that you want to go...and I would like to, but I saw what the Heartless do, and if there is a situation where I can't protect you....... I would never forgive myself again...- Riku was being sincere with his words, he didn't want anything bad to happen to his friend, he didn't know everything that Kairi had to go through and much less how she had solved all those conflicts, he had no genuine way to show it but that wasn't the fact, in his words he had a solid reason to be like this, he didn't want to lose her, Kairi didn't want to lose him either, she took one of her hands to support Riku's, with that warmth that she possessed 

-...and what about Sora?...- she asked still thinking about her friend, she also wanted to look for Sora, in fact that was how she started her journey, to find them both safe and sound and to return home( or try to) Riku looked at her for a moment, still with his face down, but then he took a breath and reaffirmed.

-...don't worry about him...I'll go get him!

-Will you?

-I'll look for him, that's what I'm good at.

-B-But Riku! -You'd be exposed too!

-You don't have to worry about that- the boy summons a dark sharp sword, similar to a demon's wing- I got it from where I arrived, and thanks to this I have been able to defend myself....

-It's...impressive...- said the girl but still depressed, because of the request that Riku was giving her, that promise he was asking her was like going back to how she used to be, the girl who did nothing more than just being rescued. Riku placed his hand on Kairi's head and with a few gentle taps tried to go back to that sarcastic attitude she had.

-Don't worry, I'll be back as fast as I can, and when the three of us are reunited, we'll travel wherever we please, okay?

-...okay... -

Kairi hugged him again, she wanted to refuse that request but her words didn't come out of her mouth, something in her told her not to do it, maybe not to hurt him or something like that, Riku returned that hug, willing to do anything, they were like that for a while, trying to avoid the inevitable farewell, but Riku took action, and saying goodbye to her with a quick movement of his hand he left the square, Kairi was alone again.

-...good luck...Riku...- the girl put her hands on the white necklace, giving him that luck in Riku and that hope to find Sora.

The meeting ended up being somewhat bittersweet, she thought he would stay with her, at least being united they could find Sora, but it seemed that no, she knew Riku's nature, someone who did things by himself, no matter how hard he tried and never asked for help, he has always been like that with such a mature attitude but she didn't avoid worrying about him, sometimes she saw him tired and not enjoying the moments, taking too many responsibilities can exhaust anyone, she was going through the same thing now, she still didn't know what to decide about her task as a carrier, she was still wondering what she could do.

She stayed like that until she heard a familiar voice calling her from afar.

-Kairi! Hey, Kai Kai!

-Hey? Yuffie?! - the ninja jumped over the high wall and landed perfectly next to her friend.

-I've been looking all over for you! I've already taken care of the ship issue with Cid and what do you think, he's going to help you upgrade!

-What? really? 

-Yes! He's going to introduce a Gummi Guide so you can travel to different worlds!

-Guay! But how did you convince him? Remember he still hates me for stealing his ship.

-ahem...let's say...use my “charms”- she said while from her hand she fiddled with one of her affiliated Shurikens she always carried, Kairi didn't want to imagine about how she convinced him.....

-hey! Changing the subject! Are you busy now?

-Well... ...no...I'm not..." she answered, brushing aside the fact that she had only met his friend for a very short time.

-Perfect! Then let's go now! Leon cleaned the old house and now we can all get together! Let's go!

The ninja grabbed Kairi's hand without warning and dragged her up the bridge to lead her to a house that was right at the gateway to district two, it was a small but now brightly lit place. Yuffie knocked on the door until it opened and again they were met by the group from Traverse Town.

-We're back!

-Welcome back.

The group welcomed her as one of their own, they had just finished cleaning and arranging the newly restored furniture, to their surprise, Pluto was already in the house, playing with a toy given to him by the group.

-Well, if we have the naughty N#1 around here- Cid was also there, continuing with his sermon from the other time.

-Hey Cid, we've talked about this before, can you let her in? 

-Of course not and I'm not done with you young lady!

-I'm really sorry sir! But I needed the ship to find my friends!

-I could care less about your friends! What you stole from me was years of effort!

-CID!" the ninja moved a little closer towards the old man with the Shuriken already in her hand, Cid didn't bother to say anything to Yuffie and just retreated to his seat to have a drink.

-I'm glad you two will be arriving now, it's not looking good out there," Leon spoke in a worried manner.

-What do you mean Leon?

-Someone informed us that Maleficent is here.

-What? - Before Kairi could ask Yuffie stepped forward with both of her eyes widening at the news, "How could that witch be here!

-But who is Maleficent?

-What you heard girl! - Cid answered still drinking, "she's a dark witch, the most evil of them all!

That witch, Maleficent, caused them all a feeling of displeasure, it was not a good sign to talk about her, they only mentioned that she was a witch who controls the darkness at her pleasure and every time her presence is felt it is because she has something planned.

-Well what difference does it make now if she's around? didn't we come here to celebrate or something?

-Wait, what are you celebrating?" asked the gullible redhead, Yuffie gave her a playful look.

-We're celebrating your arrival! as the new savior!

Far from the window, no one had noticed that someone was silently watching them, it could be the noise of the conversation or the friendly atmosphere, but no one felt the presence of one more person watching that warm home melancholically.

-...at least...she will be fine- it was Riku who did not take his eyes off his friend laughing and talking so naturally with all those people he had never seen before.

-See what I told you? She feels safer here, and with those people she won't want to go out anymore," a sinister voice sounded breaking all the silence outside, next to the young man manifested that dark fairy that everyone feared and predicted her arrival to the city.

-So... she will be all right here?

-Of course she will, boy, my magic will do everything to protect her from those creatures, so you don't need to be here anymore to protect her," said that woman, even with her somber appearance, she appeared to be benevolent for the boy's cause.

Riku sighed relieved without looking away from his friend, he saw her as happy as he remembered her in the Islands, he was reassured by that, he felt part of the weight he was carrying to lighten a little.

-Very well...

-You feel discouraged? Do you think she has replaced you now?

-No...no she hasn't, I've known her for a long time, Kairi will never replace us....

-Are you sure?" the woman put her hand on his shoulder, she seemed to be trying to provoke him but the boy understood what the witch was trying to do and pulled his shoulder away from her.

-I must remind you well young fellow...this service I do for you is not for free...so, you know.

-...I know...- he gave a sigh before turning to leave his friend in that festive place, whatever the condition was he had to do it, in order to protect her from the Heartless, Riku gave his service with the Evil witch to do her work.

-I will only make two things clear...the first one...if one of your minions do something to her...they will deal with me", said the young man throwing a murderous look at the witch, who did not even flinch at the boy's comment.

-Very well, but as long as you keep your part... and what is the second one?" she asked the boy looking at her out of the corner of his eye, then he lowered it a little bit and then came back to her.

-I'll just stay here until I find Sora, and when I do, you can forget about me.

The boy turned to head towards his next target, unaware that the witch gave him a mischievous smile of credulity 

-We'll see...